DUKE  UNIVERSITY 


LIBRARY 


The  Glenn  Negley  Collection 
of  Utopian  Literature 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2010  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/utopiaachievednoOObrin 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 


A  NOVEL  OF  THE  FUTURE 


BY 


HERMAN   HINE  BRINSMADE 


COVER    BY    MAURER 


BROADWAY    PUBLISHING   CO. 

885  Broadway 
NEW    YORK 


Copyright,  1912, 

By 

Herman  H.  Brinsmade. 


R6^ 


UTOPIA  ACHIEVED 


CHAPTER  I. 

Quickly  and  gracefully  the  White  Flyer  steamed 
into  Newark  Bay  and  up  the  Passaic  River  to  its  pier, 
after  having  made  an  uneventful  passage  of  five  days 
from  Melbourne  via  the  Panama  Canal.  It  was  late 
summer  and  the  boat  was  thronged  with  returning 
tourists,  who  crowded  the  upper  decks  eagerly  strain- 
ing their  eyes  to  catch  a  first  glimpse  of  some  loved 
one  from  whom  they  had  been  long  separated. 

A  little  apart  from  the  others  on  the  upper  deck 
stood  a  sturdy  white-whiskered  man  apparently  closely 
crowding  upon  three  score  years  and  ten,  although 
time  had  manifestly  dealt  kindly  with  him,  and  even 
in  age  his  form  was  arrow-like,  his  step  elastic  and 
his  general  bearing  not  unlike  that  of  a  soldier. 

As  skyscraper  after  skyscraper  towered  aloft  in  the 
Jersey  city,  and  on  all  sides  were  seen  gigantic  fac- 
tories teeming  with  industry,  he  beheld  like  one  in  a 
dream,  eagerly  drinking  in  every  sight  that  presented 
itself. 

"You  seem  much  interested  in  viewing  the  scen- 
ery," ventured  a  fellow  passenger.  "I  take  it  that 
this  is  your  first  trip  to  America." 

3 


4  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"No,  no  indeed,  stranger,"  came  the  quick  response. 
"I  am  proud  to  say  that  this  is  my  native  land.  I 
was  born  in  the  good  old  state  of  Vermont,  St.  Al- 
bans, Vt.,"  he  added  half  fondly.  "I,  however,  left 
the  country  when  a  youth  of  twenty,  in  19 10,  just 
fifty  years  ago,  in  order  to  carve  out  a  fortune  for 
myself  in  far  off  Australia.  Now  it  is  with  mingled 
feelings  of  pleasure  and  disappointment  that  I  once 
more  see  the  land  of  my  boyhood,  but  oh,  so 
changed !" 

"Yes,  things  have  been  moving  pretty  lively  the  last 
few  years  in  the  metropolis.  I  can  myself  remember 
back  twenty-five  years  with  ease,  and  that  period  has 
been  one  of  magic  growth  and  expansion,  but  as  for 
fifty  years,  why  that  is  way  beyond  my  imagination." 

"Yes,"  exclaimed  the  stranger,  "I  have  as  yet  to  see 
New  York,  but  thus  far  I  have  been  revelling  as  one 
in  a  dream  at  the  development  on  the  Jersey  shore. 
This  new  waterway  amazes  me — the  opening  of  the 
harbor  of  Newark  to  ocean  going  vessels.  In  1910  it 
had  been  discussed,  but  was  then  only  a  misty  dream." 

"It  was  an  actual  economic  necessity,  for  the  water 
front  of  New  York,  although  extending  many  miles 
up  the  Hudson,  many  years  ago  became  too  congested 
for  the  commerce  of  the  greatest  city  of  the  world. 
Then  at  a  cost  of  many  millions,  the  Passaic  River 
was  dredged  out,  straightened  and  broadened.  A 
similar  development  of  a  deep  harbor  took  place  at 
Jamaica  Bay  and  in  fact  all  along  the  Long  Island 
shore  as  far  out  as  Babylon.  Now  three-quarters  of 
the  ocean  traffic,  the  freight  and  passenger  piers  and 


UTOPIA    'ACHIEVED  5 

terminals  are  either  in  Newark  or  on  the  south  shore 
of  Long  Island." 

"Well,"  mused  the  stranger,  "it  certainly  is  wonder- 
ful. When  I  left,  Newark  was  a  bottled-up  town,  so 
far  as  commerce  by  water  was  concerned,  having  a 
population  of  about  300,000." 

The  man  at  his  side  laughed.  "Three  hundred 
thousand !  Why  Newark  has  now  close  to  2,000,000 
and  she  would  have  vastly  more,  but  as  yet  she  has 
never  annexed  Jersey  City,  Harrison,  or  Elizabeth, 
although  annexation  has  often  been  discussed." 

The  big  vessel  was  now  nearing  the  huge  steel 
pier,  the  terminal  of  the  Australian-American  line. 
"Where  do  you  stop  in  New  York?"  queried  the  fel- 
low passenger  of  the  aged  traveller. 

"Why  I  think  I  shall  look  up  an  old  favorite  haunt 
of  mine  of  half  a  century  ago,  the  Hotel  Astor  at 
Broadway  and  Forty-fourth  Street."  he  replied. 

A  long,  surprised  laugh  escaped  the  lips  of  the 
younger  man.  "Hotel  Astor !  Why  that  building,  all 
very  well  as  it  was  in  its  day,  long  since  was  razed  to 
the  ground.  On  its  site  now  stands  the  union  ter- 
minals of  the  United  Aero  Company.  It  is  there  that 
the  entire  suburban  airship  service  of  greater  New 
York  centers." 

It  was  now  the  turn  for  the  other  man  to  look  sur- 
prised. "Hotel  Astor  gone !  Its  site  the  terminal  for 
an  aero  line,"  he  murmured.  "Strange,  strange  days 
are  these." 

In  less  than  half  an  hour,  aged  Thomas  Harring- 
ton was  hurried    through    the    Hudson  tube  of  the 


6  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

Pennsylvania  and  arrived  at  the  giant  Pennsylvania 
terminal.  Here  another  surprise  awaited  him.  He 
expected  quite  naturally  to  arrive  at  the  station  at 
Seventh  Avenue  and  Thirty-third  Street.  Much  was 
his  surprise  at  alighting  in  the  huge  train  shed  and 
walking  into  the  largest  railroad  terminal  building  he 
had  ever  seen,  to  be  informed  that  he  was  now  at 
Broadway  and  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Street. 
Long  since,  he  was  told,  the  old  Pennsylvania  station 
at  Seventh  Avenue  and  Thirty-third  Street  had  been 
supplanted  by  the  huge  new  terminal  at  Harlem,  as 
Harlem  was  now  the  center  of  the  city. 

It  was  evening  and  the  returned  wanderer  was 
much  fatigued  from  his  long  journey.  In  response  to 
his  query  as  to  a  good  hotel,  he  was  directed  by  a  uni- 
formed station  guide  to  a  hotel  nearly  opposite  the 
terminal  on  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Street. 

"In  New  York  again,  but  oh,  so  changed !"  half 
murmured  Harrington  when  a  half  hour  later  that 
evening  he  sat  in  the  lobby  of  the  Cosmopolitan  Hotel 
and  watched  the  passing  throng  from  the  front  win- 
dows. 

"Wonderful  city,  isn't  it?"  remarked  admiringly  a 
pleasant-faced  man  at  his  side,  who  like  himself  was 
beholding  the  ever  surging  throng  in  the  street  in 
front  of  the  hotel  with  undisguised  enthusiasm. 

"It  certainly  is,"  was  the  rejoinder,  "but  after  an 
absence  of  fifty  years,  I  see  almost  no  trace  thus  far 
of  the  old  New  York  that  I  once  knew  so  well." 

"Fifty  years,  did  you  say?"  exclaimed  the  stranger, 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  7 

a  low  whistle  escaping  his  lips,  "did  you  say  fifty 
years?" 

"Yes,  fifty  years  almost  to  the  day  I  have  been  in 
Australia  and  have  never  once  seen  New  York  in  all 
this  period." 

"Well  I  have  myself  been  away  from  the  city  nearly 
six  months  and  the  changes  almost  dumbfound  me, 
but  fifty  years — well,  that  is  a  long  time." 

"How  large  is  New  York  now?" 

"The  greater  city,  by  that  is  meant  the  newly-an- 
nexed adjacent  territory,  comprising  Westchester 
county,  Nassau  and  Suffolk  counties  on  Long  Island, 
all  of  which  is  now  New  York,  contains  by  the  latest 
census  report  approximately  20,000,000.  As  you  of 
course  know,  nearly  two  decades  ago,  New  York  out- 
distanced London  and  is  now  the  metropolis  of  the 
world,  the  English  city  having  grown  much  slower  of 
late  and  now  possesses  little  more  than  11,000,000 
people." 

The  speaker  was  manifestly  warming  up  to  his 
subject.  "Yes  the  growth  of  this  city  has  amazed  the 
world.  Now  less  than  half  the  20.000.000  comprising 
this  city  live  south  of  the  Harlem  River.  But  a  few 
years  ago,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Street 
was  called  the  heart  of  the  city.  Now  that  honor  is 
claimed  by  the  borough  of  the  Bronx,  and  in  the  near 
future  the  former  city  of  Yonkers  will  in  all  proba- 
bility comprise  the  real  heart  of  the  metropolis." 

"With  such  a  vast  area  covered  by  the  city,  I  should 
think  the  problem  of  transportation  would  be  most 


8  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

difficult — it  certainly  was  the  biggest  problem  for  the 
city  fathers  to  wrestle  with  in  the  old  days,"  remarked 
Harrington. 

"It  has  been  a  big  problem  for  every  city  with  an 
extensive  area  to  solve,"  was  the  reply.  "New  York- 
many  years  ago  set  out  to  solve  it  with  a  subway  and 
elevated  systems.  Quickly  these  became  inadequate. 
Then  a  second  subway  was  sunk  beneath  the  first. 
This  assisted  in  handling  the  crowds  for  a  time,  but 
only  temporarily.  Then  a  third  subway,  sunk  far 
deeper  than  the  other  two,  was  excavated.  Mean- 
while the  elevated  went  through  a  similar  transfor- 
mation. A  second  and  later  a  third  story  was  added, 
each  elevation  having  tracks  for  the  running  of  trains. 
But  what  has  been  the  real  salvation  of  the  New 
Yorker  who  lives  in  the  suburbs  is  the  admirable  aero 
service.  This  centers  at  Longacre  Square,  the  site  of 
the  old  Hotel  Astor,  which  you  may  remember.  Here 
the  United  Aero  Co.  has  its  terminals,  covering  a  solid 
square.  From  here  "aeros"  completely  cover  the 
metropolitan  section,  all  the  territory  as  far  north  a-; 
Poughkeepsie  being  in  the  commuting  district,  all  as 
far  east  as  New  Haven  and  Patchogue  and  Port  Jef- 
ferson on  Long  Island,  Philadelphia  on  the  south  and 
Easton,  Pa.,  on  the  west.  Very  frequent  service  is 
given  and  the  rate  very  low.  Express  "aeros"  make 
Poughkeepsie  in  an  hour's  time  from  the  Longacre 
terminal,  and  these  fast  through  airships  run  every 
hour,  the  commuting  rate  being  fifty  cents  for  the 
round  trip.  As  low  rates  and  as  fast  time  are  to  be 
had  to  suburban  points  east,  west  and  south.     Besides 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  9 

these  express  airships,  there  are  a  very  great  number 
of  local  "aeros"  stopping-  all  along  the  route  at  sub- 
stations erected  uniformly  at  distances  of  one  every 
eighth  of  a  mile.  The  real  explanation  of  New  York's 
present  pre-eminence  is  attributable  chiefly  to  her  suc- 
cessful employment  of  the  Edison  aeroplane  for  sub- 
urban traffic.  It  has  solved  the  housing  and  trans- 
porting problem  of  a  great  city.  Her  bridges  to 
Brooklyn  and  to  Jersey  are  no  longer  crowded,  and 
the  subways  and  elevated  are  at  last  adequate  to  the 
demand  put  upon  them." 

"But  how  did  you  come  to  leave  the  United  States 
for  far  away  Australia?"  curiosity  beginning  to  pre- 
sent itself  to  the  speaker. 

"The  story  was  a  simple  one.  I  was  but  twenty, 
a  clerk  in  a  New  York  department  store.  I  saw  be- 
fore me  in  America  no  future  save  as  a  humble  clerk 
for  the  remainder  of  my  days.  I  read  much  and  pon- 
dered much  upon  the  sociological  problems  of  the 
day.  New  York  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  duplicate  of 
Rome  at  her  worst.  All  suffering  humanity  seemed 
to  be  crying  out  against  the  preposterous  conduct  of 
the  rich.  Money  madness,  trust  domination,  social 
inequality,  were  the  crying  ills  of  the  hour.  The  price 
of  living  suddenly  advanced  nearly  75  per  cent.  The 
outlook  for  the  poor  working  man  looked  never  more 
ominous.  Underneath  the  glittering  glamor  of  the 
plethoric  rich  could  be  felt  the  cry,  ever  unrecognized, 
of  the  down-trodden  soul  whose  faithful  efforts  large- 
ly created  this  wealth,  asking  for  but  a  crust  of  bread 
to  provide  his  daily  sustenance. 


io  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"Thoroughly  out  of  sorts  with  the  world,  as  it  was 
constituted  politically  and  socially  in  the  United 
States  in  1910,  I  was  seized  with  a  desire,  far  from 
the  scenes  of  my  early  life,  to  try  to  carve  out  a  new 
future.  Not  even  my  sweetheart  could  prevail  upon 
me  to  remain  here.  Bidding  her  an  affectionate  but 
sad  adieu,  I  cast  my  lot  in  far  off  Australia.  Only 
now  am  I  once  more  back  again  to  my  native  heath. 
Fortune  has  smiled  upon  me  at  last  and  I  am  back  to 
renew  the  memories  of  childhood  and  try  to  see  once 
more  the  sweetheart  of  my  early  life." 

"Well  you  have  certainly  had  a  romantic  career," 
declared  his  listener.  "It  has  been  an  interest- 
ing story  to  me.  I  am  glad  to  state  that  conditions 
to-day  are  in  no  way  as  bad  as  those  you  have  just 
shown  to  have  existed  in  1910.  I  sincerely  believe 
there  is  less  want,  better  health  and  all  round  more 
general  happiness  of  the  kind  that  makes  life  really 
worth  living  in  the  country  to-day  than  ever  previous 
in  her  history.  Cut  come,  it  is  getting  late.  I  shall 
be  only  too  glad  to  talk  with  you  to-morrow.  I  rep- 
resent an  electric  heater  company  in  Boston  and  am 
in  and  out  of  the  city  usually  every  few  months.  If 
I  can  be  of  any  service  to  you,  feel  free  to  command 
me.  My  name  is  Tom  Heatherton  and  I  am  surely 
glad  to  have  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you." 

Glad  to  find  a  friendly  soul  in,  to  him,  a  strange 
land,  the  aged  traveller  gave  his  new-found  friend  his 
card.  Then  they  shook  hands  and  parted  for  the 
night. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  n 


CHAPTER  II. 


Thoroughly  tired  from  his  long  trip,  Mr.  Har- 
rington had  not  even  cared  to  take  the  trouble  to  go 
up  to  his  new  quarters  in  the  hotel.  He  had  asked, 
upon  registering,  that  a  comfortable  three-room  suite 
be  set  aside  for  his  use  and  was  informed  that  his 
orders  would  be  obeyed. 

Now  he  was  anxious  to  retire  at  the  earliest  possi- 
ble moment.  Summoning  a  bell  boy,  he  asked  to  be 
shown  to  his  suite  at  once.  Into  a  swiftly  moving 
elevator  he  was  escorted  and  in  a  trice  alighted  on 
the  fiftieth  floor.  An  instant  later  he  was  shown  into 
a  well  appointed  room. 

"Here,  boy/'  he  cried,  "I  did  not  order  a  single 
room.     I  engaged  a  suite." 

"Certain  you  are,  boss,"  replied  the  lad  confi- 
dently, "sure  you're  right  in  one  of  the  best  three- 
room  suites  in  all  New  York  at  this  very  instant." 
Thereupon  the  lad  touched  a  spring  in  the  wall.  In- 
stantly, like  the  shifting  of  the  scenes  at  a  well  ap- 
pointed playhouse,  the  sides  of  the  room  began  to 
swing  on  a  pivot  set  near  the  center.  The  furniture 
was  disclosed  to  be  fastened  to  the  walls  securely. 
Thus  the  lad  revolved  the  sides,  in  a  twinkling  the 
lounging  room  was  instantly  transformed  into  a  well- 
kept  bedroom.  Every  article  of  bedroom  furniture 
was  present  from  bed  to  commode,  dresser,  chairs 
and  shaving  table. 


12  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"Should  you  want  your  meals  in  your  rooms,  just 
ring  for  me  and  I  can  instantly  fix  this  same  room 
into  a  dining  room,"  declared  the  boy. 

"You  see  you  have  your  three-room  suite,  but  it  is 
all  made  by  shifting  the  sides  of  the  same  room. 
Nearly  every  hotel  and  apartment  house  in  New  York 
uses  this  system.  Space  is  so  mighty  valuable,  it's  got 
to  be  a  necessity  to  do  so,"  he  added  by  way  of  ex- 
planation. 

Here  indeed  was  a  new  wrinkle  for  the  Austra- 
lian, who  by  this  time  had  begun  to  feel  like  one 
awakening  from  a  Rip  Van  Winkle  sleep. 

Bright  and  early  the  next  morning  Mr.  Harrington 
was  aroused  by  the  roar  of  the  traffic  in  the  street  be- 
low. Springing  out  of  bed  with  an  agility  commend- 
able for  one  of  his  years,  he  began  dressing  with  the 
eagerness  of  a  boy  preparing  for  a  day's  vacation. 

Although  the  morning  was  to  all  appearances  a 
sultry  one,  the  room  was  delightfully  cool,  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  entire  house  was  equipped  with  a  cooling 
device  whereby  the  entire  air  of  the  room  was  cooled 
every  half  hour,  not  only  affording  perfect  ventila- 
tion, but  also  causing  the  occupant  to  forget  summer's 
sultry  heat. 

Once  dressed,  Harrington  walked  to  the  side  of  the 
room  where  by  placing  a  nickel  in  a  slot,  his  shoes 
were  quickly  and  faultlessly  shined  with  the  care  of 
a  street  bootblack,  all  by  means  of  mechanical  brushes 
operated  by  electricity. 

Before  him  stood  the  menuophone.  At  last  here 
was  something  with  which  he  was  familiar,  for  the 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  13 

best  hostelries  of  Melbourne  all  employed  them.  By 
their  use  the  guest  was  enabled  to  talk  his  order  into 
what  to  all  intents  resembled  a  phonograph.  Five 
minutes  later,  should  he  so  wish,  the  table  near  the 
center  of  the  room  would  open  automatically  and  with 
the  care  of  a  faithful  waitress,  display  temptingly  be- 
fore him  the  various  eatables  that  he  had  ordered  for 
his  first  meal  of  the  day.  Wonderful  as  this  inven- 
tion was,  he  had  long  since  become  so  familiar  with 
it  that  it  possessed  little  interest  for  him.  Harrington 
started  for  the  elevator  on  his  way  to  the  hotel  din- 
ing room.  Once  there,  he  was  by  chance  assigned  to 
the  same  table  as  his  acquaintance  of  the  night  before. 

"Ah !  Glad  to  see  you  up  so  bright  after  your  long 
journey,"  was  the  salutation. 

"Oh,  I  always  rise  early.  I  adhere  to  the  homely 
maxim,  'early  to  bed,  early  to  rise/  etc.  It  has  put 
many  dollars  in  my  pocket." 

"Speaking  of  dollars  recalls  to  my  mind  our  con- 
versation of  last  night  and  the  deplorable  economic 
conditions,  social  discontent,  high  cost  of  living,  etc., 
which  you  say  existed  in  1910.  Now  since  then  there 
has  been  no  bloodshed,  no  revolution  in  the  generally 
accepted  sense  of  the  word,  no  class  outbreaks,  yet 
in  this  past  half  century  there  has,  in  actuality,  gone 
into  effect,  I  am  assured  from  what  I  have  read,  a 
real  substantial  readjustment  of  things  economic.  The 
American  citizen,  rich  and  poor,  has  at  last  really 
learned  hoz<.'  to  eat.  I  thoroughly  believe  that  one  of 
the  chief  causes  of  the  high  cost  of  living  and  general 
social  discontent  some  years  ago  was  due  to  the  ill- 


i4  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

regulated  American  stomach.  To  put  it  in  the  words 
of  a  man  long  since  deceased,  now  oft  quoted  for  his 
wide  philanthropy,  John  D.  Rockefeller,  writing  of 
the  early  part  of  the  twentieth  century,  "It  is  not  the 
high  cost  of  living  so  much  as  high  living  that  is  the 
reason  that  the  average  laboring  man  finds  his  purse 
empty  in  the  middle  of  the  week,  and  the  Saturday 
pay  day  far  in  the  distance. 

"Now  this  is  typical  of  the  first  class  American 
hotel — note  the  table  d'hote  menu  for  breakfast," 
pointing  at  the  same  time  to  an  illuminated  card  at 
the  side  of  the  table.     "Look  at  this: 

Tomato  Soup 
Baked  Sweet  Potatoes 
Creamed  Carrots 
Florida  Grape  Fruit 
Cocoa 

"What  do  you  think  would  have  been  thought  of 
such  .a  morning  menu  at  the  Astor  a  few  years  ago  ?" 

"Well  it  certainly  would  have  failed  in  popularity 
with  the  majority  of  its  fashionable  patrons." 

"Exactly.  They  would  have  thought  the  meal 
pretty  skimpy  for  a  starter  for  the  day's  work.  Par- 
ticularly would  they  have  revolted  against  the  absence 
of  meat  in  some  form.  America  is  now  becoming 
noted  as  the  land  of  simple,  nourishing  diet,  with  a 
decided  tendency  toward  vegetarianism.  Aided  by 
the  federal  bureau  of  health,  which  has  established 
experimentation  stations  in  all  the  large  cities,  to 
show  the  rich  and  poor  alike  how  to  get  the  most 
nourishment,  the  maximum  strength  and  health  pro- 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  15 

during  elements  from  the  least  amount  of  food,  the 
public  has  approached  very  nearly  to  a  solution  of  a 
very  important  problem.  It  has  resulted  in  cutting 
down  the  average  laboring  man's  grocery  bill  fully 
one-half,  with  no  corresponding  sacrifice,  but  rather 
a  bettering  of  health.  It  has  nearly  doubled  the  aver- 
age man's  dollar,  which  while  of  small  moment  to  the 
rich  man,  is  all  important  to  the  poor  man." 

"Well  I  am  certainly  glad  to  know  that  the  national 
health  bureau  has  worked  out  so  well.  Its  founda- 
tion was  under  discussion  when  I  was  a  young  man 
here.  Food  reform  was  then,  also,  taking  its  first 
shape.  Horace  Fletcher  gave  up  an  Italian  villa  and 
a  life  of  ease  and  luxury  in  order  to  take  a  humble 
house  on  the  congested  East  Side  of  New  York  in 
order  to  teach  the  poor  'how  to  chew'  or,  in  the  par- 
lance of  the  time,  Tletcherize.'  By  many  his  course 
was  considered  the  pet  hobby  of  an  earnest  but  mis- 
guided rich  man. 

"Indeed  time  has  shown  that  he  was  a  true  pioneer. 
What  he  demonstrated  in  the  way  of  economy  and 
efficiency  in  diet  has  been  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
times  proved  by  experiments  of  the  federal  health 
bureau." 

By  this  time  the  two  had  finished  breakfast,  which 
frugal  as  it  at  first  seemed,  apparently  satisfied  the 
guests. 

"I  want  to  see  New  York  right.  As  I  can  not  do 
so  in  the  subways  or  air  lines,  I  think  I  will  take  a 
trolley  ride  about  town  a  bit,"  declared  Mr.  Harring- 
ton. 


16  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

"Trolley !  Well  I  guess  you  will  have  to  go  farther 
than  New  York  to  find  a  trolley.  The  last  trolley 
was  discarded  ten  years  ago.  The  'mono'  is  what 
you  want." 

"Can  it  be  that  New  York  is  so  far  ahead  of  Mel- 
bourne? We  have  still  a  net  work  of  trolleys  there. 
As  yet  we  have  no  mono  railroads." 

"They  are  the  only  kinds  of  surface  roads  in  New 
York  now.  They  have  been  adopted  because  they  are 
far  cheaper  to  build  and  operate  than  the  old  trolley, 
being  provided  with  a  storage  battery  to  generate 
their  own  electricity.  Then,  too,  they  are  far  faster 
than  a  trolley.  While  in  the  city  their  speed  is  regu- 
lated by  ordinance  to  a  comparatively  slow  rate,  out- 
side the  city  where  they  are  used  as  interurbans,  as 
they  now  are  almost  uniformly,  they  are  able  to  make 
with  ease  sixty  miles  an  hour,  a  speed  that  no  trolley 
could  hope  to  maintain. 

"My  best  wishes  for  a  pleasant  day,"  called  out  the 
salesman  in  parting. 

'Walking  to  the  nearest  corner,  Mr.  Harrington 
boarded,  as  his  friend  had  told  him,  a  monorail  car. 
He  heeded  little  the  direction  so  long  as  he  got  a 
glimpse  of  the  city. 

It  chanced  that  the  car  was  a  northbound  one,  go- 
ing up  Broadway  as  far  as  Tarrytown.  What  was 
his  amazement  to  gaze  upon  ten,  fifteen  and  twenty- 
five  story  office  buildings  far  up  beyond  Yonkers. 
Getty  Square  in  Yonkers  to  him  resembled  Times 
Square  in  the  olden  days.  Here  was  what  gave  evi- 
dence of  being  at  night  another  "great  white  way." 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  17 

The  car  kept  on  its  speedy  course.  Beyond  Yon- 
kers  the  retail  stores  began  to  be  fewer  and  fewer 
and  the  car  soon  emerged  into  what  gave  evidence  of 
being  a  most  attractive  suburban  residence  section, 
not  the  mansions  of  the  rich,  but  the  homes  of  the 
middle  class.  These  were  invariably  of  cement  and 
artistic  in  construction.  Around  each  were  good 
specimens  of  very  correct  landscape  gardening. 

"Edison's  homes  pumped  up  into  moulds  and  built 
in  a  day,"'  was  the  reply  elicited  from  the  conductor 
to  whom  he  appealed  to  know  more  of  these  novel 
and  apparently  model  little  homes. 

"They  cost,  such  ones  as  you  see  there,  detached 
cottages  of  two  story  and  attic,  having  around  seven 
rooms  each,  approximately  $800  each,''  was  the  infor- 
mation volunteered. 

One  thing  struck  the  visitor  as  peculiar,  hardly  a 
residence  that  he  had  seen  anywhere  around  New 
York  possessed  a  chimney.  In  the  good  old  days  of 
course  a  chimney  was  a  prime  requisite  and  in  his 
adopted  Australia,  chimneys  were  everywhere  pres- 
ent. Xew  York,  however,  had  apparently  outgrown 
them.  He  curiously  called  the  attention  of  the  street 
car  conductor  to  the  fact. 

The  latter  eyed  him  up  suspiciously  a  moment  as 
if  he  beheld  a  curiosity  of  the  antediluvian  age. 
"Why,  man,"  he  replied,  when  he  had  completed  his 
scrutiny,  "folks  don't  have  chimneys  in  New  York. 
It  ain't  allowed.  The  city  ordinance  says  they  can't 
have  any,  and  if  it  was  allowed  no  one  would  want 
anv.     Evervone  uses    electric     heaters    and    electric 


18  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

ranges.  The  price  of  electricity  is  just  about  a  third 
that  of  wood,  coal  or  gas.  It  is  far  cleaner  and  bet- 
ter. Danger  from  fire  is  much  less  than  it  ever  was 
with  chimneys  and  the  old  fashioned  fires.  Then, 
too,  the  smoke  nuisance  is  about  done  away  with 
through  the  use  of  electricity." 

Now  and  then  Harrington  would  look  upward  and 
observe  the  passage  silently  and  swiftly  as  an  arrow, 
of  the  fast  moving  aero.  Now  and  then  the  "mono" 
would  stop  at  an  aero  terminal,  great  chimney-like 
looking  structures,  built  plainly  of  brick,  piercing  the 
clouds  like  the  tower  of  Babel  of  old.  Inside  these 
structures  were  elevators  providing  quick  transporta- 
tion to  the  upper  regions.  As  these  terminals  were 
reached,  the  conductor  on  the  "mono"  called  them 
out,  each  bearing  a  number  in  regular  rotation  as  the 
distinguishing  feature.  Whenever  desired,  the  con- 
ductor gave  transfers  to  the  airships,  as  both  were 
controlled  by  the  same  company,  the  United  Aero 
Company. 

How  strange  did  it  all  seem  to  see  a  passenger  on 
the  surface  car  obtain  a  transfer  to  the  clouds  and. 
upon  reaching  the  desired  terminal  of  the  aero  line, 
transfer  and  continue  in  the  clouds  a  trip  begun  on 
terra  firma. 

In  all,  the  morning  was  one  never  to  be  forgotten 
by  the  returned  traveller.  It  was  like  Aladdin's 
dream.  Barely  could  he  believe  the  testimony  of  his 
eyes  as  his  gaze  rested  upon  the  visible  evidences  of 
half  a  century's  progress. 

With  all  the  manifestations  of  astounding  growth. 


V  TOP  I A    ACHIEVED  19 

there  was  manifestly  lacking  the  dazzling  evidences 
of  gorgeous  display  of  wealth.  All  the  homes  he  had 
seen  in  upper  New  York  were  distinguished  by  their 
modesty  and  good  taste.  They  bore  evidences  very 
apparently  of  belonging  to  the  middle  class  of  society- 
While  gaudy  display  of  opulence  was  absent,  so  was 
all  trace  of  abject  want.  "The  era  of  the  great  com- 
mon people  has  dawned  in  America,"  thought  Har- 
rington.    "God  bless  the  day." 

In  each  borough  passed  through  were  large,  com- 
modious structures  showing  up  most  prominently. 

"Those,  why  they  are  the  branches  of  the  national 
health  bureau.  Busy  hives  of  industry  they  are,  too. 
They  keep  a  close  check  on  all  impure  foods  sold  by 
stores  and  groceries  and  watch  for  all  infringements 
of  the  pure  food  laws.  They  also  have  a  staff  of  doc- 
tors to  give  free  medical  advice  to  the  public.  In  an- 
other department  they  are  constantly  carrying  on  ex- 
periments as  to  the  best  ways  of  cooking  foods  and 
trying  to  find  out  the  best  suited  diets  for  the  public. 
Busy  places  they  are  and  they  do  a  heap  of  good, 
too,"  he  added. 

Another  feature  that  impressed  Harrington  sur- 
prisingly was  the  lack  of  vacant  lots  in  the  suburban 
boroughs  sandwiched  in  between  the  buildings  as  had 
customarily  been  the  case  years  before.  Nearly  every 
town  passed  through  was  built  up  almost  solidly, 
there  being  practically  no  vacant  lots,  until  vacant 
spaces  were  reached,  all  located  in  a  mass  in  the 
breathing  spots  between  the  towns  and  villages. 

"The  single  tax  can  be  thanked  for  that,  as  well  as 


20  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

for  a  whole  lot  of  the  present  prosperity,"  replied  a 
man  on  the  seat  with  Harrington  and  with  whom  he 
had  become  engaged  in  a  casual  conversation.  "The 
single  tax  has  now  been  tried  out  in  this  country  thor- 
oughly for  the  last  ten  years  when,  by  a  constitutional 
amendment,  it  was  voted  to  give  the  experiment  a 
trial.  It  most  certainly  has  made  good  to  an  excep- 
tional degree." 

Just  about  the  noon  hour,  somewhat  tired  from  his 
long  ride,  Harrington  alighted  near  his  hotel.  The 
morning  had  been  one  of  deep  interest  and  inspira- 
tion. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  long,  widely  diversified  trip  of  sight  seeing  of 
the  morning  had  fatigued  Harrington  considerably 
and  he  resolved  to  rest  in  his  suite  of  rooms  for  a 
time  at  midday.  First,  however,  he  bethought  him- 
self that  he  was  sorely  in  need  of  a  shave.  In  re- 
sponse to  his  question  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  a  bar- 
ber, he  was  told  that  his  best  course  was  to  patronize 
the  automatic  barber  in  his  room. 

A  few  minutes  later  he  was  pressing  a  button  in 
the  wall  of  his  marvellous  "folding  apartment"  and, 
reclining  in  a  chair,  experienced  the  novelty  of  a  me- 
chanical shave  by  a  safety  razor  worked  by  electric- 
ity. Lathering,  shaving,  and  even  hot  towels  were 
applied  with  the  care  of  a  most  conscientious  barber. 
At  first  Harrington  was  inclined  to  be  skeptical,  but 
his  courage  returned  when  he  observed  the  consum- 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  21 

mate  skill  which  characterized  every  movement  of  the 
machine.  It  is  needless  to  say  not  a  drop  of  blood 
was  spilled.  A  side  lever  was  labelled  "hair  cut," 
even  this  delicate  operation  being  performed  by  the 
almost  human  machine. 

The  shave  having  been  accomplished  satisfactorily, 
Harrington  proceeded  to  enjoy  another  convenience 
of  the  mid-twentieth  century.  This  was  one  by  no 
means  new  to  him,  for  Melbourne  hotels  nearly  all 
possessed  this  luxury.  Again  stepping  to  the  wall  of 
his  room,  he  pressed  another  lever  and  in  a  twinkling 
a  phonograph  began  to  reel  off  to  him  the  news  of 
the  day  as  contained  in  the  noon  editions  of  the  New 
York  papers.  Resting  quietly  on  the  bed,  it  was  in- 
deed a  luxury  to  hear  the  news  of  the  day  without 
the  physical  effort  of  reading  the  paper  one's  self. 
This  machine  was  also  most  delicately  constituted. 
Different  levers  regulated  the  different  departments 
of  the  paper.  So  were  one  to  wish  the  sporting 
news,  all  that  was  required  was  to  throw  a  side  lever 
to  "Sports."  The  same  was  true  of  "Markets,"  "Tel- 
egraphs." "Classified  Ads,"  "Woman's  Dept,"  etc. 

After  a  short  rest,  Harrington  rang  for  a  boy  who 
in  response  to  his  request,  magically  transformed  the 
bed  chamber  into  a  well  appointed  dining  room.  Every 
article  of  furniture  revolved  into  place  with  the 
swinging  of  the  walls.  There  was  a  handsome  ma- 
hogany table,  a  mahogany  sideboard  to  match,  as  well 
as  buffet.  Great  carved  mahogany  dining  chairs  were 
set  in  place.  On  the  floor  was  an  oriental  rug  of  rich 
design.     The  dishes  were  the  finest  of  Haviland,  the 


22  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

entire  outfit,  so  Harrington  later  learned,  belonged  to 
his  suite  and  were  always  there  concealed  in  the  walls 
for  prompt  service. 

As  the  well  appointed  dining  room  came  into  place, 
something  well  nigh  a  feeling  of  loneliness  overcame 
the  traveller  for  an  instant.  Here  was  this  handsome 
apartment,  this  well  ordered  dining  room,  but  who 
was  there  to  enjoy  it  with  him?  The  loneliness  of 
bachelorhood  oppressed  him.  What  good  was  his 
money  and  all  this  luxury  to  him  now?  After  all, 
wasn't  his  life  worse  than  wasted? 

Brushing  aside  what  closely  resembled  a  tear,  he 
quickly  assumed  his  usually  dignified  bearing,  and 
taking  up  the  receiver  of  the  menuophone,  located 
near  the  center  of  the  table,  he  placed  his  order  with 
the  silent  waitress,  a  most  fitting  adjunct  to  a  man  of 
solitude  like  himself. 

A  few  seconds  later,  with  such  dispatch  as  was 
never  known  to  have  been  possessed  by  a  human 
waitress  of  the  old  days,  the  repast  was  served.  It 
differed  little  from  the  morning  meal.  The  omission 
of  meat  especially  caused  the  guest  to  marvel. 

After  luncheon,  at  the  invitation  of  the  proprietor 
of  the  hotel,  Harrington  was  introduced  to  the  intri- 
cacies of  a  hostelry  of  the  middle  of  the  twentieth 
century. 

At  the  outset,  he  was  informed  that  the  hotel  pos- 
sessed 5,000  rooms.  When  the  visitor  marvelled  at 
the  number,  he  was  informed  that  in  reality  there 
were  but  1,000,  but  that  the  5,000  were  made  possible 
through  the  fact  that  five  different  rooms  could  be 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  23 

created  out  of  a  single  room  by  the  shifting  of  the 
sides  of  the  wall  just  as  had  been  done  in  the  case  in 
his  own  suite.  Thus  many  families  rented  a  single 
room  and  out  of  this  had  successively,  when  occasion 
demanded,  a  bedroom,  dining  room,  living  room, 
kitchen  and  bath. 

In  the  basement  was  a  huge  electric  furnace  which 
heated  the  entire  building.  A  refrigerating  plant 
kept  every  room  in  both  summer  and  winter  at  the 
uniform  temperature  of  70  degrees. 

The  entire  hotel  laundry  and  the  laundry  of  the 
guests  was  quickly  and  automatically  done,  not  a  per- 
son being  required  after  the  electric  washer  was 
started.  In  like  manner,  the  clothes  were  dried  by 
electric  fans  within  the  short  space  of  five  minutes. 
Ironing  also  was  by  electricity. 

Cooking  and  dish  washing  again  was  a  matter  of 
the  employment  of  an  electric  machine.  A  wire  bas- 
ket gathered  up  dirty  dishes  mechanically  and  by 
means  of  a  carrier  system,  not  unlike  a  miniature 
trolley,  were  conveyed  to  the  kitchen  where  the  bas- 
ket, dishes  and  all,  were  passed  through  caldrons 
filled  with  boiling  water.  Later  they  were  rinsed  in 
a  spray  of  clean  hot  water,  then  sterilized  in  a  jet 
of  steam  and  mechanically  returned  to  their  respective 
places  on  the  pantry  shelf,  all  inside  of  two  minutes 
and  all  without  having  once  been  touched  by  a  human 
hand. 

In  the  second  basement  was  a  commodious  station 
of  the  second  subway,  while  on  the  roof  was  a  fully 
as  convenient  station  for  aeros.     In  this  way,  passen- 


24  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

gers  could  leave  the  subway,  go  up  the  elevator  to 
the  roof,  and  there  use  their  transfers  to  the  air  sys- 
tem, all  without  leaving  the  confines  of  the  Cosmo- 
politan Hotel. 

Despite  the  vast  size  of  the  hotel,  Harrington  was 
informed  that  one  hundred  only  were  employed  there, 
whereas  under  the  old,  laborious,  non-labor  saving 
method  of  running  hostelries,  fully  500  would  have 
been  required  to  care  for  so  elaborate  an  establish- 
ment. 

The  afternoon  had  been  an  entertaining  and  profit- 
able one,  and  Harrington  was  well  pleased  with  the 
expenditure  of  time.  He  had  seen  more  modern 
wonders. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  real  surprise  of  the  returned  wanderer  was 
yet  to  come.  This  came  about  when  he  started  out 
to  see  the  congested  east  side  as  it  had  been  generally 
known  a  half  century  previous. 

After  much  inquiring  and  several  changes  of  sub- 
way trains,  Mr.  Harrington  alighted  at  the  corner  of 
the  Bowery  and  Grand  Street.  Great  was  his  sur- 
prise to  see  the  former  a  model  residence  street,  as 
were  all  the  cross  streets,  comprising  once  the  most 
congested  part  of  New  York. 

Here  again  predominated  cement  houses  of  the  Edi- 
son type  such  as  he  had  seen  in  the  morning  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  city.  Few  were  more  than 
three  stories,  and  two  story  and  attic  seemed  to  be  the 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  25 

favorite.  Each  was  surrounded  by  tiny  but  well  kept 
lawns,  their  individuality  breaking  the  otherwise  mo- 
notonous similarity  of  houses.  Strange,  too,  for  so 
valuable  a  section,  so  far  as  the  intrinsic  value  of  the 
real  estate  was  concerned,  the  houses  were  for  the 
most  part  detached.  Here  and  there  in  his  bewildered 
walk  through  the  side  streets,  he  discovered  parks 
and  playgrounds.  In  one  of  the  parks  he  was  at- 
tracted to  an  heroic  statue  of  a  man  under  whose  out- 
stretched arms  was  a  group  of  poorly  clad,  anaemic 
looking  men,  women  and  children. 

"In  loving  memory  of  our  friend  and  benefactor, 
Horace  Fletcher,  who  unselfishly  came  among  us 
when  we  were  ahungered  and  athirst  and  pointed  out 
to  us  the  real  way  of  living." 

"Erected  April  8,  1930,  by  the  citizens  of  the  East 
Side." 

The  crying  crowds  of  homeless,  tattered,  famished, 
which  years  before  had  thronged  the  sidewalks  and 
blocked  the  streets — their  only  breathing  spot  and 
home — often,  had  gone.  Only  order,  peace  and 
plenty  marked  what  had  once  been  the  squalid  homes 
of  New  York's  outcast  poor. 

Within  a  half  dozen  blocks  were  two  large  munici- 
pal bath  houses.  Inquiry  revealed  the  fact  that  each 
possessed  separate  apartments  for  men  and  women, 
and  not  only  were  there  accommodations  for  personal 
ablutions,  but  also  each  place  was  provided  with  laun- 
dries where  a  poor  woman  or  working  girl  could,  if 
she  were  financially  unable  to  pay  a  washerwoman  or 
laundry,  bring  her  soiled  linen,  and  with  the  free  ad- 


26  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

juncts  of  fine  cement  tubs,  abundance  of  hot  water, 
electric  drying  and  ironing  equipment,  do  her  own 
washing  without  the  expenditure  of  a  penny. 

A  hasty,  aimless  walk  through  the  district  brought 
Harrington  to  the  corner  of  Mott  and  Pell  Streets, 
the  old  heart  of  Chinatown.  Great  was  his  surprise 
to  see  a  huge  building,  which  later  proved  to  be  a 
branch  of  the  federal  health  bureau,  standing  on  the 
site.  Broad  streets  had  replaced  the  former  narrow 
winding  lanes,  and  all  traces  of  an  oriental  quarter 
were  obliterated.  Instead,  this  too,  was  a  good  resi- 
dential section  of  the  poorer  class.  Skyscraper  tene- 
ments, each  with  a  court  and  fountain,  the  model  ten- 
ements of  the  dream  of  optimists  of  the  early  part  of 
the  century,  were  here. 

Curiosity  being  on  the  ascendency,  Harrington  en- 
tered the  front  door  of  the  health  building.  A  guide 
in  uniform  met  him  and  asked  what  department  he 
desired  to  visit.  After  assuring  that  his  visit  was 
only  one  of  inspection,  he  was  politely  ushered  into 
the  private  office  of  the  manager.  Quickly  Harring- 
ton made  himself  known  and  the  purpose  of  his  call. 

"So  you  want  to  know  more  about  the  federal  bu- 
reau of  health.  You  know  it  was  started  in  19 13 
after  years  of  discussion,  political  wire  pulling,  and 
hostility  in  general.  That  it  has  vindicated  itself,  its 
excuse  for  existence,  I  think  you  can  see  for  your- 
self. It  is  by  no  means  infallible;  it  has  made  mis- 
takes and  now  every  day  makes  mistakes,  but  through 
experimentation  it  is  trying  to  work  out  the  physical 
betterment  of  humanity. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  27 

"Up  to  1913,  a  very  astonishing  condition  of  affairs 
existed.  The  average  citizen  was  the  most  concerned 
person  in  the  world  about  the  proper  feeding  of  his 
horses,  cows,  pigs,  and  other  dumb  animals,  and  the 
public  treasury  at  great  expense  and  painstaking  de- 
tail, carefully  experimented  as  to  the  proper  rations 
for  feeding  animals  and  with  the  greatest  care  studied 
the  cause  and  prevention  of  diseases  and  mortality 
among  these,  but  when  it  came  to  the  human  animal, 
no  thought  was  expended  on  his  food  and  health.  A 
hog  was  worth  perhaps  $30,  provided  he  was  a  good 
hog,  a  human  was  not  worth  thirty  cents  to  save  from 
disease  and  death. 

"Now,  fortunately,  all  this  has  changed.  Congress 
makes  a  yearly  appropriation  adequate  to  the  needs  of 
the  department.  We  have  a  corps  of  able,  practical 
physicians.  They  advise  all  who  come  as  to  their 
health  free  of  charge.  Those  who  cannot  come  in 
person,  either  secure  advice  by  mail  or  the  physician 
calls  in  person.  All  the  advice  is  shaped  "to  lock  the 
stable  door  before  the  horse  is  stolen.'  The  aim  is  to 
prevent  rather  than  cure  disease.  We  advise  not 
drugs  but  a  simple,  hygienic  life,  baths,  exercise,  pure 
water,  and  above  all,  correct  eating.  Three-quarters 
of  the  attention  of  the  department  is  directed  toward 
the  analysis  of  foods  to  determine  their  correct  weight 
and  purity,  and  last  and  most  important,  the  actual 
experimentation  to  determine  the  best  balanced  food, 
the  most  wholesome,  the  least  expensive,  the  most 
health  producing. 

"Years  ago  there  was  much  talk  about  high  prices 


28  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

and  the  generally  unsatisfactory  economic  condition 
of  the  laboring  man,"  ventured  Harrington. 

"Time  has  shown  that  the  real  fault  of  the  times  of 
which  you  allude  was  not  so  much  high  cost  of  living 
as  high  living — the  restless  desire  of  the  throng  to 
ape  the  luxurious  display  of  the  idle  rich.  The  mid- 
dle class  has  at  last  awoke  to  an  understanding  that 
such  living  provokes  but  three  things — ill  health,  a 
chronic  condition  of  empty  pocketbook,  and  general 
discontent. 

"Perhaps  you  do  not  know,  but  the  same  is  a  fact 
proved  by  statistics  gathered  by  this  bureau,  that  the 
average  working  man's  family  of  four  expends  but  a 
little  less  than  four  dollars  a  week  for  food.  Com- 
pare that  with  conditions  some  years  ago.  First  the 
public  has  been  taught  to  almost  entirely  depend  upon 
vegetarian  fare,  eliminating  the  expensive,  and  too 
often  disease  producing,  flesh  foods  known  as  meat. 
We  have  taught  the  public  that  they  do  not  require 
meat  and  are  better  off  without  it.  Greater  efficiency 
is  obtained  on  a  vegetarian  diet,  greater  endurance  is 
obtained,  and  the  general  health  and  length  of  life  of 
the  vegetarian  is  far  longer  than  that  of  a  meat  eater. 
It  took  a  long  time  to  convince  the  laboring  man  that 
he  could  exist  on  a  vegetarian  diet.  He  now  knows 
by  his  own  experience.  The  saving  to  the  average 
man  is  a  big  item.  Thus  it  must  be  remembered  that 
not  only  is  the  grocery  bill  cut  down  often  almost  to 
half  what  it  formerly  was,  but  the  saving  of  doctor 
bills  is  a  matter  of  consideration  and  a  factor  in  the 
cheapened  cost  of  living. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  29 

"Model  tenements,  constructed  by  many  of  our 
philanthropic  citizens,  have  greatly  reduced  house 
rent,  and  the  Edison  cement  house  has  enabled  nearly 
every  man  to  own  his  own  home  in  the  suburbs,  as 
these  cost  as  low  as  $500,  good,  wholesome,  attractive 
homes,  too.  Good  airship  service  has  brought  the 
surrounding  country,  for  fifty  miles  in  any  direction, 
into  the  metropolitan  zone  and  desirable  for  homes. 
With  the  construction  of  the  new  Edison  homes,  those 
cement  houses,  constructed  in  moulds  and  pumped  up 
in  a  day's  time,  rent  has  cheapened.  Where  a  man 
has  not  the  $500  or  $1,000  for  such  a  home  he  can 
rent  at  an  average  monthly  rental  of  Sio."' 

"Well.  I  certainly  am  impressed  with  all  I  have 
seen  and  heard.  I  am  going  to  Washington  in  a  few 
days  to  see  how  the  capital  looks." 

"If  you  go  to  the  capital,  by  all  means  look  up 
Director  Bronson  at  the  head  of  the  national  bureau 
of  health.  He  can  fill  you  full  of  interesting  figures 
and  will  more  fully  tell  of  the  work  of  the  depart- 
ment. Here,''  he  walked  to  his  desk  and  in  a  trice 
dictated  to  his  stenographer  a  personal  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  his  chief. 

"Take  this  and  tell  him  I  sent  you.  Before  you  go, 
however,  you  must  go  through  our  place  here." 

A  mighty  hive  of  industry  did  the  place  prove  to  be 
with  its  different  departments  of  food  analysis,  food 
experimentation,  consultation,  statistics  and  many 
minor  branches  used  to  carry  out  the  great  work. 

It  was  good  and  late  when  Harrington  once  more 
reached  his  hotel.     Dinner  had  been  served  for  some 


30  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

time  and  the  dining  room  was  nearly  ready  for  clos- 
ing.    With  all  dispatch  he  hurried  thither. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  first  fleeting  glimpse  of  Newark  which  he  had 
obtained  upon  his  arrival,  so  interested  Harrington 
that  he  determined  to  visit  the  city  once  more,  spend- 
ing more  time  in  revisiting  scenes  that  had  years  be- 
fore been  familiar  to  him. 

Boarding  a  subway  train  which  ran  through  the 
Hudson  tube,  he  soon  found  himself  in  the  Jersey 
metropolis.  Alighting  at  the  "Four  Corners,"  he  was 
surprised  to  see  the  great  transformation.  Huge 
skyscrapers  from  forty  to  fifty  stories  stood  on  each 
corner.  An  elevated  railroad  ran  its  noisy  trains 
through  Broad  Street,  a  fact  which  he  sincerely  re- 
gretted, as  it  spoiled  the  former  quietness  of  the  thor- 
oughfare. A  subway  system  radiated  to  all  the 
Oranges,  Montclair,  Elizabeth  and  other  outlying  dis- 
tricts of  the  city.  The  aero  system  he  found  also  in 
evidence  in  the  Jersey  town  here  as  in  New  York,  it 
being  employed  much  as  were  street  cars  in  the  old 
days. 

Wandering  as  one  in  a  dream,  he  unconsciously  di- 
rected his  footsteps  toward  the  municipal  docks,  where 
he  had  landed  upon  his  arrival  in  America,  and  the 
landing  place  of  practically  all  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
steamship  lines. 

Fine  steel  structures  were  these  and  he  was  equally 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  31 

interested  to  learn  that  the  great  expense  incidental  to 
their  erection,  borne  jointly  by  the  city  of  Newark  and 
the  state  or  New  Jersey,  had  ultimately  paid  back 
every  dollar  of  their  cost  and  were  now  a  valuable 
income  producer  for  the  city. 

On  all  sides  in  the  vicinity  of  the  water  front  were 
warehouses,  as  he  learned  that  Newark  was  the  real 
distributing  point  for  New  York — the  outpost  of  the 
vast  trade  of  the  country. 

Upon  inquiry,  Harrington  was  informed  that  the 
value  of  foreign  imports  into  the  port  of  Newark  for 
the  year  ending  Dec.  31,  1959,  were  $907,350,653,  or 
nearly  as  great  as  the  volume  of  such  business  of  New 
York  in  1909.  At  the  same  time  the  exports  for  the 
same  period  were  more  than  $750,000,000. 

Accessibility  to  ocean  transportation,  as  well  as  un- 
excelled railroad  facilities,  proximity  of  raw  material 
and  the  added  advantage  of  the  location  at  the  "back 
door  of  New  York,"  had  made  of  Newark  the  great- 
est manufacturing  center  of  the  country. 

Within  the  fifty  years  from  1910  to  i960,  he  was 
amazed  to  learn  that  fully  $4,000,000,000  of  new  in- 
dustries had  been  added.  The  figures  appalled  him. 
He  felt  decidedly  dizzy  at  their  contemplation. 

"Why,"  declared  his  informant,  "this  is  nothing  so 
wonderful.  During  the  five  years  from  1900  to  1905, 
there  were  added  to  the  industries  of  Newark  $530,- 
000,000,  or  more  than  $100,000,000  a  year.  Viewed 
in  the  light  of  this  growth,  it  is  by  no  means  aston- 
ishing that  in  a  full  half  century,  and  with  the  ship- 
ping facilities  now  possessed,  an  additional  $4,000,- 


32  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

000,000  has  been  added  to  the  industrial  development 
here. 

"Do  you  realize  that  in  those  five  years  just  alluded 
to,  there  were  added  to  the  industries  here  an  equiva- 
lent total  investment  to  that  possessed  by  Philadelphia 
in  1900,  and  of  Pittsburg  and  the  whole  Monongahela 
Valley  in  1905? 

"In  other  words,  this  city  has  added  a  Pittsburg 
and  more,  industrially  speaking,  every  decade  for  the 
past  fifty  years. 

"These  figures  are  all  very  interesting,  amazing 
and  all  but  incomprehensible  as  they  are,  but  how 
about  the  Jersey  mosquito,  has  he  kept  pace  in  fecun- 
dity with  the  rest  of  the  progress  all  around  him?" 
queried  Harrington. 

His  informant,  a  pleasant  faced,  middle-aged  man, 
laughed  a  soft,  musical  laugh. 

"Really,  friend,  you  amuse  me.  Where  can  you 
have  been  all  these  years?  Long  since,  the  Jersey 
mosquito,  like  the  antiquated  mother-in-law  joke, 
passed  practically  out  of  existence.  The  deepening  of 
the  Passaic  River,  which  was  done  by  the  aid  of  state 
and  federal  appropriation,  and  the  drainage  of  the 
marshes  in  this  vicinity,  put  an  end  to  the  existence 
of  the  mosquito.  The  commercial  development  here, 
the  building  each  year  of  more  factories  on  what  had 
heretofore  been  swamps,  meant  the  slow  but  sure  end- 
ing of  the  pest. 

"At  the  present  time,  nearly  all  the  swamps  are 
now  occupied  by  factories,  the  sites  having  first  been 
ditched  and  drained." 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  33 

"No  one  now  fears  attacks  of  these  little  pests." 

The  afternoon  was  advancing,  and  Harrington  was 
anxious  to  see  more  of  the  city  ere  nightfall.  As  yet 
he  had  not  taken  a  ride  in  an  aero.  He  determined 
to  try  the  novel  ride.  In  reply  to  a  question,  he  was 
told  to  go  to  the  'Tour  Corners"  and  up  the  elevator 
in  the  Fireman's  Bank  building  to  the  roof,  which 
proved  to  be  the  forty-fifth  story,  where  he  was  told 
he  could  take  the  Orange  aero. 

Five  minutes  later  he  dropped  his  nickel  fare  into 
the  chopper  and  passed  through  the  turnstile  to  the 
airship  landing.  Quickly  a  car  noiselessly,  with  the 
wings  of  an  eagle,  alighted  near  where  he  stood.  He 
quickly  found  a  seat  in  the  car  which  had  a  seating 
capacity  of  twenty-five.  He  was  delighted  to  find  that 
the  strictly-enforced  rules  of  the  company  forbade 
any  passenger  to  stand. 

With  the  starting  of  the  car,  which  was  somewhat 
in  the  shape  of  an  old-fashioned  dirigible  balloon, 
Harrington  was  delighted  at  observing  the  finest  pan- 
orama of  a  vast  city,  a  bustling  harbor,  and  the  more, 
remote  view  of  New  York  in  the  distance.  It  was 
not  his  first  ride  in  the  clouds,  for  Australia  had 
many  similar  lines,  but  the  view  of  the  metropolitan 
section  was  one  that  he  had  never  seen  the  equal  of. 

Beneath  him  the  largest  buildings  seemed  like  so 
many  fly  specks,  but  he  got  a  better  view  as  the  sub- 
urbs were  approached,  as  the  absence  of  lofty  build- 
ings and  other  obstructions  enabled  the  cars  to  run 
comparatively  near  the  earth. 

Here  he  obtained  an  excellent  view  of  the  homes 


34  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

of  the  workers  of  the  big  Newark  factories.  Pros- 
perous and  well  kept,  too,  they  appeared,  a  large  num- 
ber being  of  the  Edison  cement  variety.  Altogether 
they  were  very  much  superior  to  the  homes  of  the 
working  class  in  the  early  part  of  the  century. 

As  was  the  case  over  on  the  New  York  side,  houses 
were  built  in  groups,  there  being  scarcely  a  vacant  lot 
except  in  the  extreme  outskirts  of  the  city.  Harring- 
ton recalled  to  mind  that  he  had  previously  been  told 
that  the  single  tax  was  in  effect  throughout  the  coun- 
try and  vaguely  associated  the  idea  of  the  absence  of 
vacant  lots  with  this  theory.  He  had  but  a  misty 
idea  of  it  all,  for  in  his  day  the  single  tax  and  Henry 
George  were  closely  associated  and  George  was  com- 
monly regarded  as  a  dreamer.  He  determined  at  his 
earliest  opportunity  to  learn  all  he  could  of  the  prac- 
tical workings  of  the  single  tax  idea  in  America. 

By  this  time  he  was  in  Orange  and  at  the  terminal. 
He  had  by  chance  boarded  a  limited  and  the  first  stop 
was  Orange  and  the  running  time  from  Newark 
eight  minutes.  He  decided  to  retain  his  seat  in  the 
car  and  return  to  Newark  instead  of  alighting. 

Fifteen  minutes  later  he  was  at  his  hotel,  the  Cos- 
mopolitan, at  One  Hundred  Twenty-fifth  Street,  New 
York. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Once  more  at  his  hotel,  Harrington  again  encoun- 
tered his  salesman  friend.  With  a  cheery  greeting, 
the  latter  enquired  as  to  where  the  older  man  had 
been  spending  the  day. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  35 

"I  have  been  over  to  Jersey  and  have  been  surprised 
and  delighted  to  see  the  wonderful  development  that 
has  gone  on  there  as  well  as  on  this  side,"  was  the 
reply. 

"Yes,  Jersey  is  keeping  pace  with  the  industrial  de- 
velopment, although  in  no  way  rivalling  her  more 
brilliant  neighbor,  New  York.  Nature  ordained  that 
she  be  the  shipping  center,  having  the  railroad  ter- 
minals and  the  factories,  which  the  greater  value  of 
real  estate  in  New  York  has  precluded  here. 

"Did  you  go  through  any  of  the  many  factories?" 
asked  Heatherton  with  evidently  increasing  interest. 

"My  line  is  such  that  I  see  much  of  the  inside  of 
these  places  and  it  is  wonderful  what  has  been  accom- 
plished in  the  past  ten,  yes,  in  the  past  five  years,  I 
might  say. 

"Just  as  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
there  occurred  a  revolution  in  the  industrial  world  in 
England  and  elsewhere  incident  upon  the  introduction 
of  new  and  wonderfully  delicate  machinery,  so  in  this 
modern  world  a  similar  transformation  has  taken 
place. 

"Strangely  enough,  this  time  it  has  not  been  due  to 
the  invention  of  any  specially  wonderful  machinery. 
It  has  come  to  pass  through  better  management  of 
labor  by  the  employers  of  labor. 

"Over  in  Newark  are  15,000  factories  employing 
around  500,000  persons.  Their  working  day,  surpris- 
ing as  it  may  seem  to  you,  is  but  five  hours,  as  re- 
quired by  the  American  Federation  of  Labor.  They 
go  to  work  in  a  majority  of  places  at  9  o'clock  in  the 


36  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

morning  and  work  until  half  past  eleven.  The  after- 
noon hours  are  customarily  from  I  to  3 :3c  Yet 
short  as  this  day  may  seem,  fully  the  equivalent  of 
the  work  done  in  the  old  eight-hour  day  is  performed 
and  in  addition  probably  one-half  as  much  again  as 
under  the  old  regime.  All  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  workers  work  with  a  will  and  under  more  expert 
management,  a  far  greater  amount  of  work  is  got  out 
of  the  laborers. 

"What  the  laboring  men  specially  like  is  the  fact 
that  their  pay  has  undergone  no  cut,  it  being  fully  up 
to  the  average  maintained  under  the  eight-hour  day. 

"What  was  all  wrong  under  the  old  system  was  the 
slip-shod  shop  management.  All  the  blame  for  ineffi- 
cient work  was,  by  reason  of  habit,  placed  upon  the 
shoulders  of  labor.  The  average  worker  was  regarded 
by  his  superiors  as  a  suspicious  person  much  as  a  con- 
vict is  treated  behind  the  four  walls  of  his  prison. 
It  was  taken  for  granted  that  the  worker  was  there 
to  shirk.  He  must  be  treated  as  a  shirker  and  never 
given  a  chance  but  rather  be  driven  like  a  balky  mule. 

"The  real  fault  with  the  old  system  lay  where  least 
suspected,  with  the  heads  themselves. 

"Not  anything  like  the  full  efficiency  was  ever  ob- 
tained under  any  eight-hour  system,"  declared  Heath- 
erton,  warming  up  to  his  subject. 

"Before  I  accepted  my  present  position  as  travelling 
salesman,  I  was  myself  the  foreman  in  a  large  Boston 
factory.  My  experience  has  taught  me  that  there  are 
four  basic  principles  of  scientific  management,  and 
the  late  but  almost  universal  recognition  of  these  are 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  37 

the  underlying  explanation  for  the  greater  efficiency 
of  the  present  day. 

"First,  there  had  to  be  a  gathering  in  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  craft  possessed  by  the  individual  trade 
worker.  This  knowledge,  once  possessed,  had  to  be 
digested  intelligently — in  other  words,  reduced  to 
laws,  rules,  and  mathematical  formulae.  This  alone 
has  become  of  wonderful  aid  when  supplied  by  the 
management  to  the  help  in  general. 

"Second,  the  painstaking  selection,  through  careful 
psychological  study,  of  each  individual  workman  for 
the  special  line  of  work  in  the  division  of  labor  as- 
signed to  him.  Every  man  is  essentially  by  nature 
qualified  to  do  some  things  better  than  others.  Some- 
times, as  is  often  the  case,  he  is  unable  by  himself  to 
discover  his  own  fitness.  He  must  be  assisted  by  a 
foreman,  who  must  be  considerable  of  a  psychologist 
in  the  study  of  men,  to  discover  what  he  should  best 
do.  In  other  words,  all  the  present  tendency  has 
been  to  eliminate  round  pegs  from  square  holes.  Each 
man  is  a  little  cog  in  the  big  machine  of  industry. 
His  work  must  be  done  well  and  to  the  very  best  of 
his  ability,  or  the  whole  fabric  of  industry  is  askew. 

"Third,  the  fusion  of  science  and  trained  workers. 
All  proper  influence  has  been  brought  to  bear  to  see 
that  only  the  most  approved  scientific  measures  are 
employed.  This  is  a  forcing  process,  but  experience 
has  demonstrated  that  often  it  is  the  management,  not 
the  day  laborers,  that  stands  most  in  need  of  heroic 
measures  being  employed. 


38  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

"Fourth,  part  of  the  work  heretofore  laid  upon 
labor  has  been  placed  upon  the  management." 

"By  way  of  illustration  let  me  tell  you  of  the  expe- 
rience of  a  Pennsylvania  millionaire.  This  gentle- 
man, whom  we  will  call  Mr.  Blank,  had  just  erected 
a  beautiful  summer  residence.  The  house  occupied 
an  elevated  site  commanding  a  view  of  the  far  distant 
river  valley.  Blank,  however,  was  not  satisfied  with 
the  prospect.  He  determined  to  do  some  rare  stunts 
with  landscape  gardening  and  scoop  out  the  entire 
side  of  the  hill  leading  up  to  his  house  so  as  to  leave 
a  concave  surface. 

"A  contractor  was  consulted  and  he  informed  Blank 
that  the  excavation  would  be  around  1,000  cubic 
yards  of  earth  to  cost  at  the  rate  of  75  cents  per  yard. 

"Quickly  the  work  was  started.  Blank  watched  the 
operation  with  the  eye  of  a  man  whose  pocketbook  is 
at  stake.  He  was  surprised  to  see  that  virtually  no 
progress  was  made  for  the  first  week.  He  resolved 
to  know  the  reason  why.  Accordingly  he  took  a  day's 
vacation  from  his  work  in  the  city  and  just  camped 
out  under  a  tree  on  his  lawn  in  full  view  of  the  men 
with  the  teams  hauling  off  the  dirt. 

"Then  it  was  that  the  reason  for  the  slow  progress 
was  apparent.  Fully  half  of  the  horses  were  broken 
winded  and  unable  to  perform  a  full  day's  work. 
Many  of  the  men  were,  likewise,  inefficient.  Blank, 
after  a  little  consideration,  took  things  into  his  own 
hands.  He  weeded  out  all  the  antiquated  rigs  and 
discharged  all  but  the  more  rapid,  capable  workers. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  39 

A  little  careful  supervision  had  revealed  to  him  just 
which  men  were  valuable  to  him  and  which  were  not. 

"As  a  result  of  this  weeding  out  process,  the  work 
was  quickly  and  satisfactorily  performed  and  the  cost 
was  reduced  from  the  estimated  75  cents  a  cubic  yard 
to  just  fifteen  cents  a  cubic  yard. 

"This  case  is  well  illustrative  of  what  has  been  go- 
ing on  throughout  the  industrial  world.  A  few  years 
ago  conditions  were  like  the  75  cent  a  yard  charge  for 
a  15  cent  job.  The  result  was  satisfactory  to  neither 
labor  nor  capital. 

"In  the  onward  march  of  progress,  to  be  sure,  some 
of  the  slower  workmen  have  been  eliminated,  but  in 
nearly  every  case  they  have  found  their  little  niche  in 
the  industrial  fabric  elsewhere  in  some  other  line 
where  they  were  better  qualified. 

"As  I  stated,  very  little  astonishingly  new  labor 
saving  machinery  has  been  invented  the  last  few 
years,  but  far  better,  the  human  machine,  the  greatest 
of  all,  has  been  more  thoroughly  understood  and  de- 
veloped to  its  highest  efficiency,  something  never  pre- 
viously done. 

"The  five-hour  day  has  been  fully  demonstrated  to 
be  the  best  for  all  concerned.  Laborers  come  to  work 
fresh  for  their  duties.  They  work  without  trying  to 
watch  the  clock  and  the  hours  of  toil  are  so  divided 
as  to  preclude  fatigue  and  obtain  the  maximum  effi- 
ciency. Again  figures  show  that  the  health  of  the 
workers  is  wholly  satisfactory,  there  being  excep- 
tionally few  cases  of  illness  to  hamper  the  progress  of 
the  work. 


4o  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

"The  workers  find  that  the  new  regime  gives  them 
ample  time  for  recreation,  social  life,  and  for  study 
when  the  desire  is  present.  A  large  number  are  tak- 
ing studies  in  the  various  night  schools  and  enabling 
themselves  to  become  better,  more  enlightened  citi- 
zens. Altogether,  conditions  in  the  labor  world  are 
more  satisfactory  than  ever  in  the  country's  history, 
which  is  shown  by  the  extreme  infrequency  of  strikes, 
a  blot  on  the  civilization  of  fifty  years  ago.  Now 
there  is  little  left  to  be  reasonably  desired.  Hours 
are  as  short  as  can  be  asked,  and  the  pay  adequate 
to  all  ordinary  demands." 

"You  have  again  filled  me  with  interest  with  your 
story  of  conditions  as  they  now  are  in  the  labor  world, 
and  it  is  with  a  thrill  of  pride  that  I  learn  that  Amer- 
ica, my  own  country,  seems  to  be  pointing  the  way 
for  other  countries.  As  yet  Australia,  and  much  of 
Europe,  I  am  told,  are  still  struggling  with  the  old, 
antiquated,  dog  eat  dog,  cut  throat  practices  so  far  as 
industrialism  is  concerned." 

"Well,  I  guess  I  shall  have  to  say  good-bye  for  a 
little  time.  I  leave  to-night  for  Boston,  as  I  have 
been  summoned  to  report  to  headquarters  to-morrow. 
I  shall  hope  to  meet  you  in  the  near  future,  though," 
replied  Heatherton,  his  face  lighting  up  with  a  smile. 

The  two  men  shook  hands  cordially  and  parted. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  41 


CHAPTER  VII. 

It  had  now  come  time  for  Harrington  to  proceed 
to  Washington,  as  he  was  anxious  to  see  the  national 
capital  after  his  long  absence.  Accordingly,  the  next 
morning  early,  he  betook  himself  to  Broadway  at 
Columbus  Circle  where  was  located  a  big  aero  station 
similar  to  the  one  at  Longacre  Square,  except  for  the 
fact  that  this  one  was  used  solely  for  airships  making 
long  distance  trips  rather  than  suburban  service. 

On  the  Broadway  side  was  a  huge  entrance  into  a 
mammoth  ground  floor  waiting  room  not  unlike  the 
waiting  room  of  a  large  steam  railroad  station. 
Handsome  carved  mahogany  seats  were  there  in 
abundance  and  all  the  adjuncts  of  a  well  constituted 
waiting  room.  On  one  side  were  ranged  numerous 
ticket  offices. 

As  the  time  came  for  the  different  air  trains,  an 
announcer  in  uniform  called  them  out.  This  was  a 
signal  for  a  general  scampering  for  the  elevators 
which  conveyed  the  passengers  to  a  commodious  loft 
fully  six  hundred  feet  from  the  ground.  At  this  ele- 
vation were  the  terminals  of  the  air  line. 

Harrington  wanted  to  call  it  a  train  shed  with 
twenty  tracks,  for  there  was  space  for  twenty  large 
airships  to  run  abreast,  numbers  from  one  to  twenty 
designating  the  arriving  and  departing  points. 

Harrington  found  that  he  was  just  in  time  to  catch 


42  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

the  8  o'clock  airship  for  Washington  due  at  the  cap- 
ital at  12  o'clock. 

He  hastened  to  find  a  seat  in  the  long  torpedo- 
shaped  machine  holding  about  150  passengers.  Within 
he  found  the  arrangement  similar  to  a  steam  car, 
there  being  an  aisle  through  the  center  and  the  seats 
on  each  side  seating  two  persons  in  each. 

He  found  a  seat  with  a  middle-aged  man  who,  he 
later  discovered,  was  a  United  States  Senator  en 
route  to  the  capital. 

There  was  a  dull  buzzing  of  the  engine  and  the  ma- 
chine was  off  with  the  wings  of  an  eagle.  The  speed 
almost  made  Harrington  dizzy.  He  had  never  before 
ridden  at  so  great  rate  of  speed.  The  entire  world 
beneath  him  was  a  blur.  He  could  barely  recognize 
any  object. 

His  seat  mate  informed  him  that  the  speed  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  train  was  a  limited  as  far  as  Phil- 
adelphia, but  that  from  there  on  more  frequent  stops 
were  made  and  consequently  the  speed  from  there  on 
was  slower. 

The  ninety  miles  between  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia were  negotiated  in  exactly  one  hour.  A  real 
feeling  of  fear,  the  first  he  had  ever  so  experienced, 
overcame  Harrington  in  this  mad  dash.  Beneath  him 
he  saw  the  federal  express  tearing  ahead  over  the 
same  course  far  below  at  the  rate  of  nearly  a  mile  a 
minute.  The  flyer  made  its  progress  seem  like  that 
of  an  accommodation  train. 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  distinct  relief  that  Phila- 
delphia wras  reached.     A  stop  was  made  of  but  two 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  43 

minutes  in  the  Quaker  City,  of  which  but  a  fleeting 
glimpse  was  afforded. 

Just  as  predicted,  from  there  on  the  progress  of 
the  flyer  was  much  slower  and  Harrington  confessed 
to  his  inmost  self  that  he  was  in  no  way  sorry  that 
such  was  the  case. 

By  this  time  the  man  at  his  side  had  become  more 
social  and  evinced  interest  in  his  companion. 

"Going  to  Washington?"  he  asked  by  way  of  open- 
ing up  a  conversation. 

"Yes,  I  am  to  see  the  capital  after  an  absence  of 
fifty  years,"  replied  Harrington. 

The  man  at  his  side  naturally  turned  and  regarded 
him  with  considerable  interest. 

"It  can't  be  that  you  travel  very  much,"  he  said. 

"On  the  contrary  I  am  a  considerable  of  a  traveller, 
but  I  have  been  out  of  the  United  States  ever  since 
my  early  youth.  I  have  passed  the  last  fifty  years  in 
Melbourne,  Australia." 

"Well  indeed  that  is  interesting.  So  you  are  home 
again  to  see  the  scenes  of  your  youth?" 

"That  is  just  why  I  am  back  in  this  country.  I 
have  really  no  other  excuse  for  coming." 

"What  do  you  think  of  the  country  here  after  so 
long  an  absence?  Do  you  see  material  improve- 
ment?" asked  the  man  who  by  this  time  had  intro- 
duced himself  as  Senator  Reyburn  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

"Yes,  indeed,  there  are  very  many  material  changes, 
a  very  great  betterment  in  many  regards.  Just  how 
great  I  have  yet  to  learn.     I  have  only  been  back  to 


44  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

this  country  three  days  as  yet,  and  of  course  my  inves- 
tigations are  as  yet  limited." 

"I  can  say,  however,  that  I  am  most  impressed  with 
the  outward  signs  of  the  prosperity  of  the  middle 
classes,  the  working  people  of  the  country.  It  seems 
to  me  that  their  existence  has  been  made  far  happier 
than  was  the  case  some  years  ago.  I  have  not  delved 
deep  enough  .into  economic  conditions  as  yet  to  know 
the  true  explanation  for  this,  but  I  am  told  that  the 
general  cost  of  living  has  either  decreased  or,  per- 
haps, to  put  it  differently,  the  purchasing  power  of  a 
dollar  has  increased,"  replied  Harrington,  at  once 
plunging  into  a  subject  that  was  ever  of  burning  in- 
terest to  him. 

"For  a  person  who  has  only  made  a  brief  and  su- 
perficial investigation,  as  you  say  you  have  done,  you 
have  summed  up  the  case  with  surprising  accuracy. 

"The  working  people,  and  a  whole  lot  who  com- 
prise a  class  of  society  above  the  working  class,  have 
been  gradually  taught  how  to  live  to  get  the  maxi- 
mum of  efficiency  and  happiness  out  of  existence. 
They  have,  thanks  to  the  federal  bureau  of  health, 
learned  to  eat  the  proper  things — far  less  expensive 
and  far  more  wholesome  than  those  things  which 
years  ago  they  ate  at  a  far  greater  expense.  The 
same  federal  bureau  has  taught  how  to  dress  properly 
and  inexpensively. 

"In  addition  to  this  the  development  of  the  poured 
cement  house  of  Edison's  has  enabled  people  possess- 
ing as  little  as  $500  or  $1,000  to  own  a  house  of  their 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  45 

own,  thoroughly  sanitary  and  wholesome,  and  a  far 
cry  from  the.  old  dark,  ill  ventilated  tenements. 

"Work  in  factories  has  become  pleasanter  through 
the  existence  almost  universally  of  the  five-hour  day. 
This  affords  ample  time  for  recreation  and  the  proper 
care  of  the  body  and  mind,  all  at  the  expense  of  no 
sacrifice  of  the  efficiency  of  labor,  which  is  even  more 
efficient  when  given  more  time  for  recreation. 

"The  middle  class  has  just  come  into  its  own.  It 
has,  as  you  most  aptly  put  it,  learned  the  purchasing 
value  of  a  dollar.  It  does  not  cost  so  much  to  clothe 
the  body  well  and  wholesomely.  Neither  does  it  re- 
quire great  expenditure  to  provide  for  the  human 
machine  the  amount  of  fuel  (food)  that  it  requires  to 
keep  it  in  the  best  working  order. 

"It  was  only  when  the  person  chose  to  attempt  to 
bedeck  himself  in  the  more  costly  of  raiment  and  par- 
tially enshroud  himself  with  jewels,  and  eating  the 
choicest  and  most  expensive  of  imported  viands,  that 
living  became  high.  High  cost  of  living  in  my  early 
boyhood  was  the  chief  cry  of  distress  heard  on  every 
hand.  It  was  really  high  living.  A  return  to  the 
simpler  life  such  as  was  pursued  by  our  forefathers, 
was  what  was  required.  That  was,  however,  scorned 
by  the  average  member  of  the  middle  class  as  a  step 
backward  in  civilization.  It  was  all  very  well  for  our 
less  highly  civilized  forefathers,  they  argued,  but  as 
for  us,  why  we  were  too  far  advanced  for  that.  Only 
when  the  way  was  blazed  again  for  them  did  they  see 
the  great  light  and  follow  where  it  led.     That  light 


46  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

was  shed  by  the  national  bureau  of  health  in  no  small 
degree. 

"Again  another  element  has  in  no  small  degree  con- 
tributed to  the  present  satisfactory  economic  condi- 
tions now  existing.  I  refer  to  the  single  tax.  This 
experiment  has  been  given  a  rigid  test  and  it  has  made 
good.  It  was  naturally  hard  fought  at  the  outset,  but 
by  a  narrow  majority  it  became  incorporated  in  a  new 
amendment  to  the  federal  constitution  and  it  has  in 
many  communities  revolutionized  things.  It  has 
been  a  godsend  to  the  middle  classes. 

"But  come,  I  fear  I  am  wearying  you.  When  I  get 
started  talking  on  a  pet  subject  I  never  know  the 
proper  moment  to  quit  and  I  often  render  myself  in 
danger  of  becoming  a  bore." 

"No,  indeed,  I  am,  myself,  deeply  interested,  and 
all  the  more  when  I  have  the  opportunity  of  talking 
with  a  United  States  senator — an  honor  that  is  not 
my  lot  every  day." 

The  senator  bowed  and  smiled  at  the  compliment. 
"I  am  glad  I  have  not  been  boring  you,"  he  remarked. 

"On  the  contrary,  I  am  anxious  to  learn  and  know 
all  I  can  of  the  economic  conditions  of  my  native 
land.  I  see  on  all  sides  marvelous  prosperity,  and  I 
am  anxious  to  know  just  what  to  attribute  the 
changed  conditions  to.  I  am  especially  interested  in 
the  health  bureau  and  in  the  single  tax  idea.  I  have 
had  the  pleasure  to  inspect  the  branch  of  the  health 
bureau  in  New  York  and  talk  with  the  director,  but 
thus  far  I  have  had  little  enlightenment  concerning 
the  actual   workings  of  the  single  tax.     I   desire  to 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  47 

know  more  of  the  latter  and  have  been  anxious  to 
know  to  whom  to  go  for  exact  information." 

"If  that  is  the  case,  if  you  will  call  at  my  office  in 
Washington  I  will  gladly  help  you  what  little  I  can  in 
this  regard." 

Harrington  gladly  thanked  his  new  friend  and  once 
more  turned  his  attention  to  the  fascinating  panorama 
of  hill,  vale  and  river,  over  which  they  were  quickly 
gliding. 

Far  in  the  distance,  a  gilt  speck  began  to  show  up. 
Quickly  it  increased  with  mushroom  growth  and  all 
around  it  were  similar  smaller  specks. 

"Just  making  Washington  on  time,"  smiled  Sena- 
tor Reyburn,  looking  at  his  watch. 

"I  shall  hope  to  see  you  in  a  few  days  in  my  office," 
declared  the  Senator  in  takinsr  leave  of  Harrington. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

New  surprises  were  in  store  for  Harrington  as  he 
strolled  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue  a  few  minutes  later. 
This  historic  thoroughfare  had  apparently  kept  pace 
with  the  changes  that  the  passing  years  had  brought. 
In  many  ways  it  resembled  Broadway  in  New  York, 
although  the  buildings  were  rarely  more  than  thirty 
stories  in  height. 

Here,  as  in  the  metropolis,  the  monorail  was  the 
only  system  of  street  car  running  through  the  thor- 
oughfare.    Fleet  aeros  traversed  the  air,  their  vine- 


48  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

clad,  picturesque,  chimney-like  landings  being  scat- 
tered at  intervals  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

Everywhere  newer  and  finer  public  buildings  were 
in  evidence.  He  was  interested  to  see  at  the  head  of 
the  street  the  new  executive  mansion  recently  built 
and  far  more  commensurate  with  the  wealth  and  im- 
portance of  the  nation  than  was  the  old  White  House, 
despite  the  wealth  of  sentiment  and  history  that  clus- 
tered around  the  old  building. 

"Destroyed  by  fire  some  years  ago,"  was  the  laconic 
reply  in  answer  to  a  question  as  to  what  had  caused 
the  abandonment  of  the  old  White  House. 

The  capitol  was  there  as  of  yore  but  vastly  en- 
larged, each  wing  being  greatly  expanded  until  the 
structure  looked  one  of  wings  rather  than  of  a  main 
building  and  wings.  The  increasing  number  of  Con- 
gressmen consequent  upon  the  growth  of  population 
of  the  country  required  the  additions  to  the  House 
wing  and  in  order  to  not  mar  the  architectural  plan, 
similar  additions  were  made  to  the  Senate  chamber, 
he  learned. 

Many  of  the  older  parts  of  the  city  where  buildings 
once  stood  had  been  converted  into  parks  and  chil- 
dren's playgrounds.  In  all,  Washington  presented  a 
far  more  charming  appearance  than  it  had  ever  given 
promise  of  doing. 

East  of  the  Congressional  library,  he  caught  sight 
of  the  huge  structure  which  he  soon  learned  was  de- 
voted to  the  federal  department  of  health.  Even 
larger  than  the  capitol  it  looked  in  the  distance.  Here 
is  where  he  resolved  to  explore  at  another  day. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  49 

Over  on  the  mall  he  walked.  It  was  even  m6re 
charming  than  ever.  Several  new  statues  he  ob- 
served that  attracted  his  attention.  One  was  to  the 
martyred  President  McKinley,  of  whom  he  had  been 
in  youth  a  great  admirer. 

Across  the  waters  of  the  Potomac  he  saw  in  the 
distance  a  handsome  steel  arch  bridge  linking  the  cap- 
ital with  the  Virginia  shore. 

"That,  why  that's  the  Washington-Lincoln  memo- 
rial bridge,"  he  was  told  upon  inquiring. 

The  Washington  monument  looked  familiar,  but 
its  height  was  far  less  accentuated  than  formerly,  for 
many  of  the  city  skyscrapers  were  fully  as  tall.  It 
no  longer  inspired  respectful  awe  in  its  contempla- 
tion. 

As  in  New  York  and  Newark,  Harrington  took  an 
airship  for  a  more  interesting  view  of  the  city.  He 
was  directed  to  a  point  where  he  could  obtain  a  belt 
line  aero  giving  him  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  city  and 
the  Virginia  side. 

He  lost  no  time  in  taking  this  trip  which  afforded 
an  excellent  ride  of  twenty-five  miles  for  an  outlay  of 
twenty-five  cents.  The  ride  gave  him  a  fine  idea  of 
the  residential  section  and  official  Washington. 

A  half  hour  later  a  stop  was  made  near  the  Aerial 
Hotel  which,  Harrington  was  told,  was  an  excellent 
hostelry  and  where  he  hastily  made  up  his  mind  to 
stay. 

He  found  the  place  quite  similar  to  the  Cosmopol- 
itan in  New  York.  Here  again  he  had  a  suite  of 
three   rooms  of    the    variety   in  the   metropolis,   the 


50  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

walls,  to  which  the  furniture  was  attached,  swinging 
on  a  pivot  and  thus  metamorphosing  a  single  room 
into  three  at  the  option  of  the  occupant. 

It  was  not  solely  for  pleasure  that  Harrington  had 
made  the  trip  to  Washington.  To  be  sure  he  de- 
sired very  much  to  once  more  see  the  city,  but  a  busi- 
ness errand  was  the  chief  motive  for  the  trip. 

Early  the  next  morning  he  inquired  his  way  out 
into  the  suburbs  where  he  had  the  business  errand. 
The  distance  was  so  great  and  the  time  required  so 
long  in  transacting  the  business  that  it  was  noon  when 
once  more  he  found  himself  at  his  hotel. 

With  the  passage  of  each  day  spent  in  America,  he 
was  beginning  to  feel  a  peculiar  sensation.  No,  it 
was  not  exactly  the  burning  love  of  youthful  impetu- 
osity at  three  score  years  and  ten,  he  assured  him- 
self, but  just  the  same  his  heart  yearned  to  see  again 
at  the  earliest  possible  moment  a  certain  Miss  Jemima 
Haggerson  way  up  in  the  old  familiar  Vermont  hills. 
While  he  waited  for  the  call  for  dinner  in  the  lobby 
of  his  hotel,  he  became  wrapped  in  a  deep  reverie. 

Would  the  dear  old  soul  know  him  after  all  these 
years,  for  the  same  Jemima  Haggerson  was  none 
other  than  the  old  sweetheart  of  his  early  life. 

He  knew  she  still  lived,  for  only  three  months  ago 
there  wandered  to  far  away  Australia  a  man  from  the 
Vermont  town  where  she  lived.  By  chance  the  man 
met  Harrington  and  in  him  found  a  very  interested 
inquirer  as  to  the  doings  in  old  St.  Albans.  Yes, 
Miss  Jemima  lived  there  still  and  still  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  her  spinsterhood  and  with  no  prospect  either 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  51 

of  suddenly  and  shortly  passing  out  of  this  sphere  of 
existence  or  of  changing  her  state  of  single  blessed- 
ness. Of  these  two  things  Harrington  had  made 
sure.  He  had  also  got  his  friend  to  pledge  secrecy, 
for  he  would  not  for  the  world  have  Miss  Jemima 
know  that  he  had  been  inquiring  about  her. 

After  leaving  America,  Harrington  kept  up  a  live- 
ly and  affectionate  correspondence  with  his  lady  love. 
Then  he  heard  in  a  round-about  way  that  she  was 
soon  to  wed  another  and  more  prosperous  son  of  Ver- 
mont. At  that  time  her  letters  also  dropped  off. 
Unwillingly  Harrington  was  forced  at  last  to  believe 
the  story  to  be  true  and  he  regretfully  stopped  writ- 
ing. 

Deep  down  in  his  heart,  however,  there  was  a  scar 
that  time  never  healed.  Years  passed  and  he  pros- 
pered financially  in  the  land  of  his  adoption,  but  never 
did  he  find  in  all  the  country  another  Jemima.  In 
fact  he  became  known  as  a  woman  hater.  Apparent- 
ly the  fair  sex  had  little  or  no  attraction  for  him. 

Then  the  cruel  truth  was  learned,  but  too  late  to 
be  remedied.  He  heard  that  his  Jemima  had  had  no 
intention  of  marrying  another.  The  rumor  was 
wholly  false.     He  nursed  his  sorrow  to  old  age. 

Then  it  was  that  the  wanderer  from  America  and 
from  his  own  Vermont  town  had  chanced  to  journey 
to  Melbourne  and  meet  Harrington.  That  was  less 
than  six  months  before  this  time.  Neighbors  and 
friends  of  Harrington  in  Australia  were  surprised  to 
see  him  suddenly  sell  off  all  his  ranches  and  other 
realty  holdings  and  announce  that  he  had  resolved  to 


52  UTOPIA   'ACHIEVED 

go  to  America  for  an  indefinite  stay,  perhaps  forever. 

All  these  thoughts  passed  in  review  through  his 
mind  as  he  sat  in  the  hotel  lobby.  After  all,  was  he 
not  perhaps  an  old  fool?  What  would  Jemima  care 
for  him  now?  Why  not  let  her  think  him  still  dead, 
for  so  the  St.  Albans  man  had  told  him  when  some 
months  before  in  Melbourne  in  discussing  his  home 
town  and  its  affairs,  he  had  asked  half  humorously 
if  Miss  Jemima  had  wed  and  was  told  that  once  long 
years  ago  she  had  had  a  sweetheart  who  went  on  a 
long  voyage  to  a  distant  land.  That  he  had  written 
for  a  time  regularly,  but  then  no  more  was  heard 
and  Miss  Jemima  declared  she  had  reliable  informa- 
tion that  he  had  perished  in  some  fearful  tropical 
storm. 

If  she  believed  this,  why  trouble  her  declining 
years?  Wrhy  not  let  her  die  with  the  thought  that 
he  had  long  since  perished? 

Still,  however,  there  wrestled  in  his  bosom  an  un- 
controllable longing  to  see  again  those  blue  eyes,  once 
beautiful,  and  to  hear  the  soft,  melodious  voice. 
Having  come  thus  far,  he  certainly  would  go  the  rest 
of  the  way.  As  he  thought  of  it  and  of  her,  he  could 
barely  wait  to  get  to  St.  Albans.  Why  should  he 
waste  time  sight-seeing  with  her  so  near? 

His  reverie  was  rudely  awakened  by  a  tap  on  the 
shoulder  and  the  announcement  that  dinner  was 
served  in  the  dining  room.  By  this  time  he  had  de- 
veloped a  good,  healthy  appetite,  and  he  was  glad  to 
eat  once  more.  To  go  to  the  dining  room  needed  no 
second  invitation. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  53 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Dinner  over,  which  by  the  way  proved  to  be  a  vege- 
tarian meal  similar  to  those  served  at  the  Cosmopol- 
itan in  New  York,  and  which  led  Harrington  to  won- 
der anew  if  all  the  country  had  indorsed  vegetarian- 
ism, Harrington,  still  nursing  feelings  of  homesick- 
ness for  his  old  home  town  and  a  certain  individual 
there,  now  that  his  business  had  been  fully  trans- 
acted at  the  capital,  laid  plans  for  the  rapid  termina- 
tion of  his  visit.  He  would  spend  the  rest  of  the  day 
sight-seeing,  and  also  the  morning  of  the  following 
day,  leaving  the  next  afternoon  for  New  York.  Then 
by  the  day  after  that,  the  third  day,  he  would  be 
again  in  St.  Albans.  The  very  thought  sent  an  elec- 
tric thrill  through  his  whole  being.  In  St.  Albans 
again!  How  sweet  the  homecoming  after  so  long  an 
absence ! 

In  fancy  he  saw  once  more  his  birth  place,  the  old 
well  sweep,  the  little  red  school  house  where  he 
often  played  hookey  fishing  for  trout  in  the  near-by 
brook  when  his  mother  thought  him  at  school.  Even 
the  old  swimmin'  hole  presented  itself  to  view  in  his 
fancy.  Once  more  he  was  in  a  frenzy  of  excitement 
to  return,  and  that  with  all  speed. 

It  was  only  after  the  exercise  of  considerable  self- 
control  that  Harrington  was  able  to  reconcile  himself 
to  delaying  the  Vermont  trip  for  three  days  longer. 

At  last,  however,  he  resigned  himself  to  the  delay 


54  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

and  proceeded  to  go  to  the  building  near  the  Con- 
gressional library  where  he  had  seen  the  sign  "United 
States  Department  of  Health." 

Through  an  imposing  marble  entrance,  inlaid  with 
mosaics,  he  entered.  Within  the  lobby  in  a  conspicu- 
ous corner,  was  a  bust  of  Senator  Chauncey  Mitchell 
Depew.  Underneath  was  a  bronze  tablet  attesting 
that  the  Senator,  in  his  late  career,  had  consistently 
advocated  the  principles  of  vegetarianism  and  a  re- 
turn to  simple,  wholesome  living  both  in  regard  to 
diet  and  personal  habits  and  hygiene — in  short,  the 
very  things  which  the  health  bureau  had  been  teach- 
ing through  practical,  concrete  demonstration  many 
years  after  the  demise  of  the  New  York  Senator. 

As  Harrington  recalled,  he  had  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  the  director,  he  entered  the  business  office 
on  the  right  and  asking  for  Director  Bronson,  dis- 
closed his  letter  to  a  clerk  at  a  desk. 

Within  a  few  minutes,  after  resting  in  an  easy 
chair  in  an  ante  room,  a  guide  in  uniform  informed 
Harrington  that  Director  Bronson  awaited  him  in  his 
private  office.  Thither  the  visitor  was  quickly  ush- 
ered. 

He  found  the  director  to  be  an  affable,  big  fellow 
of  ruddy  complexion  and  pleasing  manner.  His  eye 
quickly  ran  over  the  letter  of  introduction.  Then  he 
extended  his  hand  and  grasped  Harrington's  heartily. 

"I  am  certainly  honored  to  make  your  acquaintance, 
Mr.  Harrington,''  he  said  by  way  of  greeting. 

"Just  down  for  a  little  visit?"  asked  Director  Bron- 
son pleasantly. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  55 

"I  came  partly  for  business  and  partly  for  pleasure. 
I  have  been  in  Australia  for  the  past  fifty  years  and 
was  anxious  to  see  how  Washington  looks  to-day," 
was  the  answer. 

The  director  looked  surprised.  "Fifty  years  is  a 
good  long  time.  What  do  you  think  of  the  city  as 
you  now  see  it?"' 

"I  must  confess  it  has  greatly  improved,  but  so  has 
nearly  every  city  in  the  country,  I  presume,  at  least 
all  those  that  I  have  again  visited  have  shown  won- 
derful development  of  what  appears  to  be  the  right 
sort." 

"But  come,  let  me  take  you  through  this  building, 
for  I  assume  that  is  what  you  wish  to  see." 

Fully  three-quarters  of  an  hour  were  consumed  in 
visiting  the  many  wonderful  departments  of  the  huge 
building.  In  all  it  closely  resembled  the  building  of 
the  same  nature  in  New  York  which  Harrington  had 
previously  visited,  the  chief  difference  being  that  the 
structure  was  far  larger  and  all  experiments  con- 
ducted on  a  far  greater  scale. 

Director  Bronson.  with  painstaking  care,  explained 
every  detail  as  the  two  proceeded  from  department  to 
department.  Its  scope  almost  bewildered  Harring- 
ton. He  was  really  fatigued  when  once  more  he  was 
escorted  to  the  office  and  resumed  his  seat. 

"It  is  certainly  a  vast  building  and  apparently  is 
doing  a  great  work.  Can  you  tell  me  concretely  some 
of  the  things  accomplished?"  asked  Harrington 
eagerly. 

"With  all  modesty,  as  head  of  the  work,  I  can  say 


56  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

we  have  accomplished  a  considerable  service  for  the 
American  people.  I  think  I  can  safely  say  we  have 
taught  the  laboring  class  how  to  make  a  single  dollar 
have  the  purchasing  value  of  two,  as  things  used  to 
be  constituted.  Above  all,  they  now  know  how  to  eat 
good,  wholesome,  nutritious  food — the  former  na- 
tional disease,  dyspepsia,  is  all  but  wiped  out.  Then, 
too,  this  department  has  earnestly  endeavored  to 
show  how  to  dress  well  and  attractively  on  a  small 
amount  of  money. 

"The  result  has  been  that  a  large  share  of  diseases 
has  been  wiped  out  through  more  enlightened  liv- 
ing. Statistics  show  that  at  no  previous  time  was  the 
health  of  the  nation  at  large  so  good  as  at  the  present 
time. 

"The  greater  efficiency  achieved,  and  the  enormous 
financial  saving  of  the  nation,  is  something  stupen- 
dous. Saner  eating  and  living  and  observance  of  the 
laws  of  hygiene  have  reduced  75  per  cent,  the  number 
of  cases  of  tuberculosis  in  the  past  fifty  years,  despite 
the  fact  that  the  population  of  the  country  has  in- 
creased from  about  90,000,000  to  nearly  200,000,000. 

"Figures  show  that  in  1910,  tuberculosis  cost  the 
country  $622,513,904  every  year.  Now,  with  all  our 
increase  of  population,  it  costs  but  a  little  over  $150,- 
000,000,  but  jeven  this  is  almost  inexcusable  and  a 
blot  on  our  boasted  civilization.  A  few  years  will  see 
the  dread  disease  virtually  wiped  out. 

"You  will  observe,"  stated  Mr.  Bronson  with  a 
smile,  "I  like  to  refer,  by  way  of  comparison,  to  the 
time   when  this   bureau    was  first    established.     The 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  57 

nearest  available  figures  we  have  to  that  time  are  the 
census  figures  for  1910.  The  figures  for  that  time 
showed  that  preventable  disease,  the  greatest  of  which 
is  tuberculosis,  cost  each  family  in  the  United  States 
at  least  $100  a  year.  In  other  words,  the  total  cost 
to  the  United  States  per  annum  through  tuberculosis 
was  then  $622,513,904,  figures  which  I  stated  to  you 
but  a  moment  ago.  At  that  time,  fully  one  person 
out  of  nine  in  the  entire  country  died  of  this  disease 
alone. 

"To  follow  the  case  a  little  closer,  I  may  quote  fig- 
ures for  the  year  1910,  prepared  by  Edward  F.  Mc- 
Sweeney,  many  years  ago  chairman  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Boston  Consumptives'  Hospital.  Tak- 
ing the  average  family  income  in  the  country  as  a 
trifle  less  than  $800,  it  was  shown  that  in  Massachu- 
setts in  1910  the  cost  per  capita  of  preventable  dis- 
eases was  $15.  On  a  basis  of  five  persons  to  a  fam- 
ily, this  rolled  up  a  total  of  $75  or  very  nearly  one- 
tenth  of  the  family  income. 

"Statistics  of  the  time  to  which  I  allude  show  that 
the  minimum  individual  cost  of  sickness,  loss  of  earn- 
ings and  death  was  $2,240.  In  the  year  1910,  165.549 
consumptives  died.  Of  this  number,  it  was  safe  to 
compute  at  least  three-fourths  were  wage  earners. 
Computations  showed  the  actual  loss  of  $278,147,152 
each  year  to  the  country,  due  to  this  cause  alone.  All 
told,  it  was  shown  that  the  American  wage  earner 
worked  one  day  in  every  six  to  pay  for  the  cost  of 
disease  and  the  consequences  thereof. 

"With  conditions  like  this,  was  it  any  wonder  that 


58  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

the  cry  of  poverty  and  the  high  cost  of  living  was 
heard  in  the  land?  Was  it  not  true  that  a  leading 
factor  in  the  then  high  cost  of  living  was  the  large 
percentage  of  preventable  diseases  ? 

"Nothing  has  been  a  greater  stain  on  our  civiliza- 
tion, glorious  and  much  boasted  as  it  is,  than  the  fact 
that  in  time  past,  and  even  to-day,  in  all  too  great  a 
degree,  we  have  allowed  preventable  diseases  to  suck 
the  life  blood  out  of  the  nation's  finest.  It  has  been 
a  far  greater  drain  than  war  and  rendered  all  the 
greater  through  its  insidiousness. 

"We  do  not  claim  the  gift  of  miracles.  We  are 
very  human,  and  naturally  make  mistakes,  but  of  one 
thing  we  can  feel  proud.  We  have,  as  I  stated,  in  no 
small  degree  been  the  agency  that  has  through  the 
dissemination  broadcast  through  every  town  and  city, 
of  the  more  correct  way  of  living,  caused  the  great 
economic  saving  to  the  nation  of  three-fourths  of  the 
lives  that  heretofore  were  yearly  sacrificed  to  the 
white  plague.  We  estimate  roughly  that  more  than 
$200,000,000  are  saved  the  country  each  year  through 
our  success  in  to  a  large  degree  subduing  the  dread 
tuberculosis.  This  alone  has  justified  the  cost  of  es- 
tablishing this  bureau.  Of  all  the  work  accom- 
plished, we  are  more  proud  of  what  has  been  done  in 
fighting  tuberculosis  than  all  else. 

"We  have  taught,  too,  that  Americans  consumed 
altogether  too  much  meat.  We  have  proved  that  it  is 
possible  for  day  laborers  to  perform  the  hardest  kind 
of  manual  labor  without  a  single  mouthful  of  meat. 
Our  experiments  have  shown  that  meat  does  far  more 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  59 

harm  than  good.  Besides,  from  an  economic  stand- 
point, it  is  the  most  expensive  food  for  persons  with 
a  limited  income  to  buy. 

"Meat  contains  all  of  the  poisonous,  unexcreted 
waste  matter  of  the  dead  animal.  Besides  this,  the 
muscle  cells  continue  to  produce  waste  products  for 
hours  after  the  death  of  the  animal,  accumulating  far 
more  rapidly  than  in  the  living  flesh,  since  both  circu- 
lation and  secretion  are  stopped  from  the  moment  of 
death.  Thus  the  meat  eater  must  throw  off  from  his 
body  the  waste  matter  of  his  own  organism  and  in  ad- 
dition that  of  the  flesh  food  that  he  has  taken  into  his 
system. 

"This  is  true  of  all  flesh  food  when  in  a  healthy 
condition  when  killed.  Far  worse  is  the  condition 
when  the  animal  was  in  other  than  a  healthy  state  at 
butchering.  Personally  I  believe  that  a  very  large 
percentage  of  tuberculosis  in  humans  had  for  its  start 
the  eating  of  diseased  meat. 

"Cold  storage  meat  is  still  worse.  It  is  in  an  ad- 
vanced state  of  decomposition  despite  the  fact  that  it 
has  been  kept  on  ice.  It  is  in  no  condition  to  be  taken 
into  the  human  stomach. 

"Is  it  any  wonder  that  before  the  public  became 
aware  of  the  unhealthfulness  of  flesh  food,  their 
eliminative  organs  worked  over  time,  being  afflicted 
with  uric  acid  poisoning  and  its  consequent  gout, 
rheumatism  and  kindred  human  ills? 

"One  of  our  most  eminent  food  scientists  has  shown 
that  the  most  dangerous  form  of  disease  contamina- 
tion from  flesh  food  is  that  of  trichinosis.     Trichina 


6o  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

are  worm-like  creatures,  the  early  stage  of  the  growth 
of  which  is  found  in  the  flesh  of  swine. 

"Once  taken  into  the  human  digestive  apparatus, 
these  creatures  are  revived  and  bore  their  way 
through  the  alimentary  canal  into  the  human  muscle 
tissue.     Trichinosis  is  a  most  fatal  disease. 

"Tuberculosis  is  the  most  prevalent  disease  among 
animals  especially  among  cattle.  The  flesh  becomes 
contaminated  with  the  tubercle  bacillus.  This  causes 
the  meat  to  be  tainted,  and,  taken  into  the  human  sys- 
tem when  this  flesh  is  used  for  food,  is  undoubtedly 
the  chief  cause  of  tuberculosis  in  humans.  To  be 
sure,  there  has  long  existed  a  farcical  meat  inspection, 
but  it  has  been  shown  that  not  one-tenth  of  the  dis- 
eased cattle  offered  for  sale  for  meat  are  discovered 
and  rejected  as  they  should  be.  Cancer,  also,  has 
been  shown  to  be  caused  through  the  eating  of  tainted 
meat. 

"Meat  is  a  stimulant.  It  causes  an  excessive  flow 
of  the  gastric  juice,  and  has  the  effect  of  imparting 
an  idea  of  energy.  On  the  contrary,  test  after  test 
of  the  relative  strength  of  meat  eaters  and  non-meat 
eaters  has  in  every  instance  resulted  in  by  far  the 
most  favorable  showing  for  the  latter. 

"In  the  days  of  hardest  industrial  conditions,  I  re- 
fer to  the  period  around  1910,  which  in  contrast  with 
what  the  laboring  class  now  enjoy  seem  hard  times 
indeed,  the  meat  packers  bled  from  the  American  pub- 
lic $945,000,000  a  year.  This  is  what,  in  a  very  large 
degree,  made  the  cost  of  living  high,  for  the  poorest 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  61 

worker  thought  he  must  have  his  expensive  sirloin 
steaks. 

"The  facts  of  the  gigantic  sums  expended  for  meats 
in  1910  would  probably  never  been  public  property 
had  not  the  United  States  government  in  chat  year 
started  a  prosecution  of  the  packers  on  the  charge  of 
operating  a  monopoly  in  restraint  of  trade.  Then 
the  whole  world  discovered  the  colossal  sum  that  was 
annually  poured  into  the  coffers  of  the  meat  packers. 
The  net  profits  of  six  big  Chicago  concerns  alone 
were  found  to  aggregate  $25,000,000  annually. 

"Under  the  present  more  enlightened  conditions, 
despite  the  great  increase  in  population  in  fifty  years, 
it  is  estimated  that  not  more  than  $150,000,000,  all 
told,  is  expended  in  this  country  annually  for  meat. 
The  health  of  the  nation  has  very  materially  improved 
as  the  people  are  increasingly  becoming  devotees  of 
vegetarianism. 

"We  cannot  enter  people's  homes  and  prescribe 
what  they  shall  and  what  they  shall  not  eat.  The 
process  has  been  slow.  We  have  constantly  per- 
formed chemical  experimentations  as  to  the  relative 
food  values  of  such  and  such  foods.  Then  the  re- 
sults of  these  are  made  known  through  the  press  and 
through  bulletins  frequently  issued  by  the  depart- 
ment. They  have  had  the  effect  of  stirring  people 
up.  Many  have  tried  the  vegetarian  life  with  fore- 
bodings for  a  week  on  trial.  The  result  has  in  a  ma- 
jority of  cases  been  so  satisfactory  that  they  have 
failed  ever,  or  but  rarely,  to  return  to  the  old  flesh 
food. 


62  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"I  fear  I  have  wearied  you  with  details.  The  sub- 
ject is  so  broad  and  the  work  so  expansive  that  it  is 
hard  to  know  when  to  stop  talking.  I  should  not 
have  talked  so  freely,  but  in  your  letter  of  introduc- 
tion, the  New  York  superintendent  stated  that  you 
wished  to  be  shown  the  workings  as  fully  as  possible 
of  the  department." 

"I  am  certainly  very  deeply  indebted  to  you,  3.1  r. 
Bronson,  for  devoting  to  an  absolute  stranger  so  much 
of  your  valuable  time.  I  feel  more  than  repaid  for 
coming,"  declared  Harrington  earnestly. 

"One  thing,  however,  I  should  like  to  ask.  How 
do  people,  especially  the  hard  manual  working  people, 
manage  to  get  along  without  meat?  What  do  they 
use  as  a  substitute?" 

"We  are  not  booming  any  patent  food  house.  We, 
however,  do  advise,  as  many  of  the  people  employ, 
the  use  of  nuts  of  all  kinds  which  possess  the  equiva- 
lent food  properties  of  meat.  Eggs  are  of  course  the 
easiest  and  most  satisfactory  meat  substitute  for  a 
large  number.  Even  at  45  or  50  cents  a  dozen,  as 
they  sometimes  cost  in  winter,  they  are  cheaper  and 
far  better  and  safer  than  meat. 

"Take,  for  example,  egg  noodles.  Most  any  house- 
wife can  make  them.  They  contain  pound  for 
pound,  several  times  as  much  nourishment  as  beef- 
steak and  cost  one-third  as  much.  Take  for  example 
10,000  families.  On  a  meat  diet  they  would  consume 
on  an  average  two  pounds  of  meat  daily.  The  cheap- 
est beefsteak  costs  certainly  15  cents  a  pound.  Thus 
the  10,000  people  would  expend  for  flesh  foods  each 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  63 

day  a  total  of  $3,000.  The  cost  of  egg  noodles,  af- 
fording equivalent  nourishment  to  the  beefsteak, 
would  not  cost  the  ten  thousand  families  more  than 
$1,000  a  day.  In  other  words  the  change  of  diet  from 
meat  would  effect  a  saving  of  $2,000  a  day  for  every 
10,000  families.  This  would  total  a  saving  of  $60,000 
a  month  or  more  than  $720,000  a  year.  Of  course  no 
one  would  care  to  eat  egg  noodles  exclusively 
throughout  the  year,  but  other  non-flesh  food  affords 
an  excellent  variety  for  every  day  in  the  year  and  at 
an  equal  financial  saving. 

"We  have  a  very  capable  corps  of  physicians  for 
free  consultation  by  the  sick  at  every  branch  at  all 
the  large  cities.  The  public  generally  has  got  to  re- 
gard these  places  and  the  free  medical  advice  af- 
forded, not  in  the  light  of  a  charity  to  be  taken  ad- 
vantage of  by  the  poor,  but  as  a  matter  of  course  to 
be  taken  advantage  of  by  all,  rich  and  poor  alike, 
just  as  the  public  schools  are  attended  by  the  chil- 
dren of  all  classes.  The  public  feels  that  it  is  paying 
for  this  privilege  just  as  it  is  paying  in  cities  for  fire 
and  police  protection.  It  is  regarded  as  something 
there  for  the  good  of  all  and  to  be  enjoyed  by  all." 

"Well  I  am  sure  I  have  spent  a  most  enjoyable  and 
profitable  afternoon.  I  know  your  time  is  more  val- 
uable than  my  own,  and  I  must  be  going  now,"  re- 
marked Harrington.  "I  shall  long  remember  this 
pleasant  afternoon.     It  has  been  a  revelation  to  me." 

"If  at  any  time  I  can  be  of  service  to  you,  please 
feel  free  to  command  me,"  declared  Mr.  Bronson 
earnestly. 


64  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"I  most  surely  shall  feel  free  to  do  so,"  exclaimed 
Harrington.  The  two  men  then  shook  hands  warmly 
and  parted. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Harrington  retraced  his  steps  in  the  late  afternoon 
toward  his  hotel.  The  evening  meal  he  found  al- 
ready served  in  the  dining  room.  He  took  his  place 
at  a  table  near  the  door  and  gave  his  order  into  the 
menuophone.  The  fact  that  once  again  the  meal  was 
a  vegetarian  one  did  not  now  surprise  him.  In  fact 
he  would  have  recoiled  from  a  flesh  diet  had  such 
been  provided  after  what  he  had  heard  during  the 
afternoon. 

Supper  once  over,  he  betook  himself  to  an  easy 
chair  in  the  lobby.  Once  more  he  fell  into  a  deep 
reverie.  He  wondered  if  he  would  really  recognize 
St.  Albans  and  how  many  of  his  former  friends  were 
still  alive  and  living  there  to  greet  him. 

And  most  important  of  all,  Jemima.  What  would 
the  dear  old  girl  say?  Would  she  draw  back  in  fear 
as  if  seeing  one  from  the  dead?  What  fun  it  would 
be  to  send  her  a  telegram !  No,  he  would  not  do 
that,  for  that  would  spoil  all  the  fun  of  watching  her 
surprised  and  pleased  look  at  seeing  him  once  more 
stand  before  her  in  the  flesh. 

He  thrust  his  hand  into  his  pocket  and  pulled  forth 
a  gold  locket,  old  fashioned  in  design,  and  showing 
much  wear  as  if  it  had  been  constantly  carried. 
Opening  it,  Harrington  stared  long  and  reflectively 


VTOPVA    ACHIEVED  65 

at  the  face  within  of  a  handsome  blue-eyed  girl  of 
perhaps  eighteen  years. 

"Dear  old  Jemima,"  he  murmured  as  something 
very  near  like  a  tear  fell  from  his  eyes. 

So  deeply  engrossed  was  Harrington  that  he  failed 
to  observe  a  young  man  approaching  where  he  sat. 

"Pardon  me,"  said  the  speaker,  "but  I  saw  you  at 
the  health  bureau  this  afternoon  and  overheard  part 
of  the  conversation  you  had  with  Director  Bronson. 
You  appeared  so  deeply  interested  I  could  not  resist 
the  temptation  to  stop  and  speak  to  you  to-night.  I 
also  live  at  this  hotel,  and  I  have  several  times  ob- 
served you  seated  across  from  me  at  the  table. 

"Jackson  is  my  name,"  he  said,  "and  I  happen  to 
be  the  first  assistant  to  Director  Bronson.  I  am  al- 
ways delighted  to  see  and  talk  with  any  one  who  is 
interested  in  the  work  there." 

"I  had  an  afternoon  of  genuine  delight  and  profit," 
exclaimed  Harrington,  his  eyes  kindling  with  interest. 

"I  am  sorry  you  did  not  stay  longer  and  see  more 
of  the  practical  workings  of  the  place,"  was  the  reply. 

"I  really  wanted  to  obtain  more  information,  I  con- 
fess, but  I  observed  that  the  time  of  the  director  was 
most  valuable  and  he  had  already  been  exceptionally 
lenient  with  me.  I  did  want  to  know  a  little  more 
concretely  how  the  average  working  man  of  the  pres- 
ent day  lives.  I  wanted  to  get  something  of  an  item- 
ized account  of  the  various  average  expenditures  in 
order  that  I  could  contrast  them  with  conditions  and 
expenditures  of  fifty  years  ago." 

"I  may  be  of  some  little  assistance  to  you  on  that 


66  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

score.  I  have  as  part  of  my  work  the  compilation  of 
a  very  large  volume  of  statistics  which  very  fairly 
well  show  the  financial  end  of  conditions  so  far  as  the 
average  family  is  concerned. 

"Our  department  is  concerned  most  especially  with 
the  problem  of  the  proper  feeding,  clothing  and  hous- 
ing of  the  public  and  their  care  in  illness  as  well  as 
in  health." 

"During  the  many  years  that  I  have  been  out  of  the 
country  I  observe  that  there  has  gone  on  a  revolu- 
tion. Conditions,  so  far  as  I  can  observe,  are  in  no 
way  like  they  were  many  years  ago.  I  have  refer- 
ence to  the  middle  classes  especially." 

"The  middle  class  is  healthier  and  happier  in  mind 
and  body  than  ever  before,"  declared  Jackson.  "They 
are  no  longer  endeavoring  to  ape  the  rich  but  in  a 
quieter  way  are  coming  into  their  own.  They  have 
a  sphere  all  to  themselves." 

"You  have  been  in  America  for  many  years  and 
seen  the  evolution  that  has  gone  on.  Now,  to  what 
do  you  attribute  the  changes?"  asked  Harrington. 

"The  causes,  so  far  as  I  can  interpret  them,  are 
many,"  was  the  reply. 

"I  believe  that  the  shorter  working  day  has  been  of 
inestimable  value.  At  first  it  was  tried  very  ginger- 
ly. Many  predicted  that  it  would  be  the  signal  for 
more  continual  through-the-week  debauchery  and 
drunkenness  than  had  previously  been  the  case.  Their 
predictions  were  wrong.  The  five-hour  day  has  re- 
dounded to  the  mutual  success  and  benefit  of  both 
employer  and  employee.     The  former  has  been  able 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  67 

to  obtain  fully  as  great  amount  of  work  and  of  better 
quality  than  under  the  old  eight-hour  day.  The  lat- 
ter has  benefitted  mentally  and  physically  by  the 
added  hours  for  recreation. 

"They  have  been  enabled  to  enjoy  healthful  out- 
door exercise,  heretofore  precluded.  Those  of  a  stu- 
dious bent  have  pursued  studies  in  night  schools,  for 
the  added  hours  of  the  day  has  enabled  them  the  bet- 
ter to  prepare  their  lessons.  Many  a  factory  hand 
has  been  able  thus  to  prepare  himself  for  a  successful 
life  in  the  professions  such  as  he  could  not  have  done 
otherwise." 

"How  about  salaries?  Is  it  true  that  they  are  no 
higher  than  they  were  some  years  ago?"  asked  Har- 
rington. 

"I  must  confess  that  there  has  been  little  advance, 
but  none  was  really  needed.  The  working  day  has 
shortened  with  no  cut  in  pay,  which  in  itself  is  really 
an  increase.  Really,  however,  as  I  stated,  no  raise 
was  needed,  as  the  purchasing  power  of  the  dollar, 
after  all  the  real  essential,  has  very  materially  in- 
creased." 

,  "What  was  always  a  mystery  to  me,  and  what 
seemed  to  indicate  fault  somewhere  with  our  indus- 
trial fabric  was  the  fact  that  under  the  old  regime." 
declared  Harrington,  "our  working  men  were  proud- 
ly proclaimed  the  highest  salaried  in  all  the  world,  yet 
their  actual  financial  condition  was  fully  as  unsatis- 
factory as  that  of  the  laboring  men  of  other  coun- 
tries." 

"You  were  quite  right  in  your  supposition.     The 


68  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

shorter  working  day ;  the  more  intelligent  and  eco- 
nomical selection  of  food ;  more  observance  of  the 
laws  of  health  and  hygiene,  and  last  but  by  no  means 
least,  the  universal  adoption  of  the  single  tax — these 
in  brief,  according  to  my  opinion,  are  the  true  expla- 
nations of  the  more  hopeful  industrial  outlook  of  the 
present  time.  These  are  what  have  produced  such 
altered  conditions  throughout  the  United  States." 

"I  have  heard  a  good  deal  about  the  workings  of 
the  single  tax,  but  as  yet  no  one  has  seemed  to  be 
able  to  give  me  a  very  accurate  idea  of  just  what  it 
has  stood  for,  and  what  it  has  to  show  for  its  accom- 
plishment," declared  Harrington. 

"That  is  a  subject  so  extensive  that  I  do  not  care 
to  discuss  it.  Others  are  far  more  capable  to  explain 
its  workings  than  I,"  was  the  reply.  "I  can,  how- 
ever, state  that  its  workings  are  remarkably  success- 
ful. To  it  must  be  attributed  much  of  the  praise  for 
the  modern  progress  you  see  about  you  on  every 
hand. 

"The  earth  is  not  a  little  paradise  or  garden  of 
Eden.  Far  from  it.  Yet  I  can  say  that  there  is  far 
more  happiness,  far  less  class  distinction,  far  less  eco- 
nomic discontent  and  far  greater  health  and  efficiency 
now  than  ever  before  among  the  great  industrial 
army. 

"I  can  assure  you  it  does  not  cost  each  family  on 
an  average  $100  a  year  for  doctors'  bills  as  was  the 
case  in  19 10.  There  need  be  no  doctors'  bills  at  all 
now,  as  all  can  get  professional  advice  free  of  charge 
at  the  various  health  bureaus,  but  still  better,  the  gen- 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  69 

eral  health  has  so  greatly  improved  that  there  is  far 
less  demand  for  the  services  of  a  physician.  The 
American  manner  of  eating  has  been  all  but  revolu- 
tionized. They  now  eat  for  efficiency,  with  the  exer- 
cise of  good  common  sense  and  an  idea  to  the  wel- 
fare of  their  purses." 

"Now  you  are  getting  to  a  point  that  interests  me 
specially.  I  was  very  much  interested  to  learn  from 
your  director  that  a  very  large  percentage  of  the 
American  people  have  discarded  meat  as  an  article  of 
diet,"  declared  Harrington.  "This  was  indeed  news 
to  me." 

"It  is  true  just  the  same,  and  it  has  afforded  a  very 
great  economic  saving.  The  average  family  of  four, 
so  statistics  show,  expends  less  than  four  dollars  a 
week  for  groceries,  a  thing  impossible  with  the  use 
of  meat.  Better  still,  they  have  not  sacrificed  their 
health  and  strength  thereby,  but  rather  have  increased 
these. 

"The  three  nutritive  elements  of  food,  of  course 
you  know,  are  proteids,  carbohydrates  and  fats.  Pro- 
tein is  the  most  expensive  article  of  diet,  as  it  is  the 
one  which  largely  heretofore  was  obtained  from  the 
eating  of  animal  foods.  Carbohydrates,  comprising 
starch  and  sugars,  form  usually  two-thirds  of  the 
average  person's  diet.  Wheat,  for  example,  furnishes 
all  the  carbohydrates  essential  to  life. 

"Science  has  shown  that  the  human  body  needs 
from  160  to  240  units  daily  of  proteids,  or  the  blood 
and  tissue  builder.  Of  fats,  from  500  to  900  units 
are  required,   while  of  carbohydrates   from   1,000  to 


;o  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

1,400  food  units  are  a  daily  essential.  The  total  num- 
ber of  units,  known  as  calories,  that  the  average  per- 
son should  consume  daily  ought  never  to  exceed 
2,000.  The  exact  number  varies  with  the  kind  of 
labor  pursued,  the  weather,  whether  it  is  hot  or  cold, 
and  with  the  person's  general  health  and  physique." 

"All  this  is  rather  puzzling  and  technical  for  the 
comprehension  of  a  layman,"  smiled  Harrington.  "It 
is,  however,  of  interest." 

"I  fear  I  am  boring  you  with  dull  details.  To  me 
there  are  no  dry  details ;  every  detail  is  so  much  alive 
and  pregnant  with  living,  vital  truth.  Others,  how- 
ever, doubtless  fail  to  find  the  enthusiasm  that  I  my- 
self find  in  the  subject. 

"Without  wearying  you  further  with  details,  I  may 
say  that  a  large  and  important  part  of  the  work  of 
our  department  is  to  prepare  for  the  public  balanced 
daily  menus  especially  suited  to  their  individual  cases. 
The  menus  must  be  wholesome,  inexpensive  and  ex- 
actly fitted  for  the  particular  case.  From  a  point  of 
view  of  expense  and  hygiene,  we  do  not,  except  in 
very  rare  cases,  prescribe  a  meat  diet. 

"Here  is  a  case  we  fixed  out  to-day,"  declared 
Jackson,  pulling  out  a  notebook.  "For  this  party,  a 
middle-aged  man,  we  prepared  a  day's  menu,  wholly 
vegetarian  and  combining  in  proper  proportions  the 
elements  of  proteids,  fats  and  carbohydrates.  Here 
it  is :" 

Harrington  took  the  notebook  interestedly  and 
read : 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  71 

Breakfast 

Gluten  gruel 

Soft  boiled  egg 

Creamed  potato 

Zweibach 

Malt  honey 

Apple 

Pecans 
Dinner 

Vegetable  broth 

Beans 

Creamed  potatoes 

Cottage  cheese 

Graham  puffs 

Apple  juice 

Malt  honey 

Celery 

Apples 
Luncheon 

Zweibach 

Cherry  sauce 

Eggnog. 

"Now  that  is  a  well  balanced  ration  for  a  day.  On 
it,  a  laboring  man  will  be  able  to  do  the  hardest  kind 
of  manual  work.  The  absence  of  expensive  meat  is 
well  atoned  for  and  to  the  infinite  well  being  of  the 
person."  declared  Jackson. 

"I  will  venture  to  say  that  thousands  of  people  are 
eating  just  such  food,  of  course  with  some  daily  devi- 
ations for  the  sake  of  variety,  right  here  in  this  city 
and  in  every  city  in  the  land." 

"I  have  noticed  that  the  hotels  where  I  have 
chanced  to  stop,  both  in  Xew  York  and  here,  are  al- 
most entirely  vegetarian,"  declared  Harrington. 


72  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"Hotels  but  tender  what  the  public  demands.  Their 
menus  are  well  reflective  of  what  the  people  require. 

"Under  existing  conditions  people  do  not  put  all 
they  make  into  their  stomachs.  They  now  have  some- 
thing left  to  spend  on  their  heads,  on  the  educational 
and  intellectual  side  of  life." 

"How  long  will  you  be  in  town?"  asked  Jackson 
with  interest. 

"This  is  my  last  night  here,"  replied  Harrington. 
"I  did  not  plan  a  long  stay  here,  for  I  am  anxious  to 
get  to  my  old  home  in  Vermont  which  I  have  not 
seen  for  fifty  years." 

"I  very  much  doubt  if  it  looks  very  natural  to  you 
if  you  have  been  away  so  long.  Vermont,  too,  has 
progressed.  For  a  time  that  state  of  all  the  New 
England  states  was  an  economic  puzzle.  Settled  by 
good  old  Puritan  stock,  the  life  blood  of  the  nation, 
for  a  long  time  it  seemed  threatened  with  partial  de- 
population. For  several  successive  decades  it  actually 
lost  people.  Then  the  tendency  was  all  from  the 
farm  to  the  city.  Now  good  progress  has  been  made 
toward  settling  the  problem  of  the  abandoned  farm 
and  Vermont,  like  other  states,  composed  very  largely 
of  a  rural  population,  has  benefitted  thereby  and 
taken  on  once  more  a  healthy  growth. 

"I  have  an  appointment  and  must  now  hasten  to 
keep  it.  I  have  very  much  enjoyed  meeting  and 
talking  with  you.  I  hope  we  may  meet  again,"  de- 
clared Jackson,  rising  and  taking  a  hearty  leave-tak- 
ing of  Harrington. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  73 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Early  the  next  morning,  which  was  the  last  one  for 
Harrington  in  Washington,  he  remembered  that  he 
had  promised  to  call  upon  Senator  Reyburn,  whom 
he  had  met  on  his  way  to  the  capital,  before  leaving 
the  city. 

He  readily  found  his  way  to  the  senator's  office 
and  was  successful  in  calling  at  a  time  when  his  host 
was  in.  Reyburn  quickly  recognized  his  traveling 
acquaintance,  and  with  a  smile  bade  him  be  seated 
in  an  easy  arm  chair. 

"So  you  found  the  way  here?"  he  remarked  pleas- 
antly. 

"I  have  had  little  difficulty  in  finding  my  way 
around  the  city,  changed  though  it  is,"  replied  Har- 
rington. 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  our  town,  any  way? 
Would  you  like  to  hang  up  your  hat  on  the  peg  here 
and  call  it  home?" 

"Really  I  do  not  know  how  it  would  seem  to  live 
here  all  the  time.  Besides,  beautiful  as  it  is,  there 
are  so  many  fine  cities  in  the  country,  a  choice  would 
be  most  perplexing.  As  for  me,  I  am  all  at  sea  as 
to  what  I  shall  do.  I  have  some  thought  of  settling 
down  in  my  old  home  town.  St.  Albans.  Vt„  but  then 
again  I  may  decide  to  return  to  Australia.  I  cannot 
say  with  assurance.     It  all  depends,  to  speak  frankly, 


74  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

with  what  a  certain  lady  in  the  Green  Mountain  state 
may  say." 

"Indeed,"  declared  the  Senator,  eying  Harrington 
with  new  interest,  "I  did  not  suspect  that  there  was 
a  fair  lady  in  the  case.  Let  me  congratulate  you  and 
wish  you  every  success  and  the  highest  degree  of  hap- 
piness," exclaimed  Senator  Reyburn. 

"I  most  certainly  appreciate  your  well  wishes.  I 
sometimes  wonder  if  perhaps  it  is  not  foolish  for  one 
at  my  time  of  life  to  think  of  matrimony,  especially 
as  it  is  the  first  time.  I  am  a  confirmed  old  bache- 
lor." 

"Let  me  assure  you  that  my  personal  experience 
has  been  all  in  favor  of  the  married  state.  I  never 
knew  true  happiness  until  I  married,"  earnestly  re- 
marked the  Senator. 

"About  the  single  tax,  Senator,"  asked  Harrington 
abruptly  turning  the  conversation,  "you  promised  to 
tell  me  more  of  its  workings  and  advantages.  I  am 
interested  in  all  that  goes  to  make  up  modern  prog- 
ress. I  see  evidences  on  all  hands  of  wonderful  eco- 
nomic and  industrial  strides  achieved  in  the  past  half 
century.  I  am  sincerely  anxious  to  know  to  what  to 
attribute  this  amazing  progress.  I  am  told  the  single 
tax  has  been  a  considerable  factor  in  the  work.  Ac- 
cordingly I  am  desirous  to  know  all  I  can  of  this,  to 
me,  innovation,"  declared  Harrington. 

"While  I  desire  in  no  way  to  boast,  it  fell  to  my  lot 
to  a  considerable  degree,  several  years  ago,  to  work 
to  the  best  of  my  ability  to  get  through  the  constitu- 
tional   amendment,  making  effective  the   single  tax. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  75 

We  had  uphill  work.  Many  were  of  the  idea  that  it 
was  akin  to  socialism  which  had  a  bad  ring  in  the 
ears  of  the  public.  We  had  to  deal  with  the  preju- 
dice of  the  masses.  The  single  tax  in  no  way  spells 
socialism.  It  is  extremely  far  from  it,  and  is  no  dan- 
gerous experiment  or  Utopian  dream  that  threatens 
the  basic  principles  of  our  government.  It  only 
means  a  far  more  fair  distribution,  among  rich  and 
poor  alike,  of  the  land  comprising  this  country.  As 
ordained  by  the  Creator,  land,  like  air,  should  be 
shared  and  shared  alike  by  all  human  beings.  There 
should  be  no  land  monopoly. 

"A  careful  study  of  conditions  existing  up  to  a  few 
years  ago  in  this  country  revealed  this  surprising 
fact.  Modern  machinery  and  industrial  conditions 
had  so  altered  that  in  a  single  day  a  working  man 
was  able  to  perform  what,  under  the  old  regime, 
would  have  required  the  labor  of  four  days.  Sur- 
prisingly, however,  it  was  true  that  up  to  a  few  years 
ago  the  scramble  for  mere  existence  was  as  great 
when  a  man  was  doing  the  work  of  four  men  as 
when  he  did  but  one-fourth  as  much  in  the  same 
time.  This  bald  fact  was  enough  to  start  the  dis- 
cerning man  to  wonder  as  to  the  real  benefits  of  mod- 
ern invention  to  the  rank  and  file.  It  showed  some- 
thing vitally  wrong  with  our  civilization.  The  ques- 
tion logically  asked  was  as  to  who  derived  the  actual 
benefits  from  the  greatly  increased  output?  It  was 
obvious  that  capital,  not  labor,  the  real  producer  of 
the  added  wealth,  obtained  this.  The  problem  was  a 
knotty  one  and  possessed  of  many  ramifications,  but 


76  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

reduced  to  lowest  terms,  it  was  resolved  largely  back 
to  the  land  as  a  very  important  source  of  the  evil. 
Understand,  we  are  not  all  socialists,  let  me  again 
impress  upon  you.  Neither  do  we  feel  it  incumbent 
upon  ourselves  to  solve  the  problems  of  the  ages  with 
a  flourish  of  a  magic  wand.  We  did,  however,  want 
to  solve  the  land  end  of  the  problem  and  set  out  to 
do  it.  I  think  I  can  truthfully  say  that  the  present 
favorable  economic  conditions  are  due  to  a  very  large 
degree  to  the  single  tax. 

"It  is  needless  to  say  that  all  wealth  is  derived  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  from  the  land.  From  time  imme- 
morial, those  who  possessed  the  land  held  the  whip 
hand  over  other  ordinary  mortals,  making  them  pay 
heavy  tribute  as  renters.  This,  more  than  any  other 
thing,  has  kept  the  people  down.  Now,  thanks  to 
our  wise  Congress,  the  people  of  the  United  States 
are  more  nearly  equal  than  ever  before.  Land,  like 
air,  is  now  the  heritage  of  all  in  common.  The  re- 
sults have  been  more  satisfactory  than  the  most  optim- 
istic ever  dared  hope." 

"I  used  to  be  much  interested  in  reading  of  Henry 
George  and  what  were  then  regarded  as  his  very 
peculiar  taxation  ideas  and  I  certainly  have  been  sur- 
prised to  see  how  well,  to  all  that  is  apparent,  this 
very  idea  is  working  out  in  practice,"  declared  Har- 
rington. 

"It  has  indeed  been  a  surprise  to  many,  but  to  those 
of  us  who  had  made  a  deep  study  of  it,  we  were  as- 
sured of  its  success  from  the  start.  Any  system  that 
puts  a  premium  on  idleness   is  utterly  deficient,  for 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  77 

such  is  the  case  under  old  taxation  methods.  In  that 
case  a  few,  on  whom  fortune  had  smiled  financially, 
could  largely  monopolize  the  most  valuable  realty  of 
the  country,  depriving  others  of  their  rightful  share 
of  a  portion  of  the  earth.  Furthermore,  as  in  many 
cases,  they  did  not  perform  any  economic  service  to 
humanity  other  than  to  hold  on  selfishly  to  their 
realty,  adding  few  if  any  improvements,  collecting 
their  rents  with  clock-like  precision  from  their  less 
fortunate  neighbors,  and  in  the  end  waxing  fat  and 
rich  as  an  indirect  result  of  the  industry  of  their 
neighbors. 

"An  excellent  example  is  the  case  of  a  man  who 
buys  a  vacant  lot  for  a  small  sum.  He  holds  on  to 
it,  paying  only  a  very  small  tax,  under  the  old  sys- 
tem. He  is  too  penurious  to  expend  a  cent  that  will 
aid  society  through,  say,  the  putting  up  of  a  building 
on  his  lot.  He  just  holds  on  and  waits  for  a  big  in- 
crease in  values.  Other  owners  of  vacant  lots  near 
his  are  fortunately  not  of  his  calibre.  They  are  eco- 
nomic producers.  They  build  on  their  lots  and  soon 
this  section  becomes  the  business  center  of  a  bustlin^ 
city.  Still  the  penurious  holder  of  the  vacant  lot  holds 
on.  When  enough  of  his  neighbors  have  put  up 
buildings  to  build  up  a  city  all  around  his  lot  and 
raise  the  price  of  his  property  to  a  fancy  figure,  then 
he  sells  and  quickly  bags  the  proceeds  of  what  is  noth- 
ing more  than  ill  gotten  gains.  He  is  a  sluggard  that 
waxes  rich  and  fat  off  from  the  efforts  of  his  more 
industrious  neighbors.  He  is  an  enemy  of  progress, 
an  utter  economic  waste. 


78  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

"Now  let  us  see  how  society  uses  the  man  who 
owns  the  next  lot  to  the  penurious  fellow,  under  the 
old  taxation  system.  This  man,  fortunately  for  the 
public  good,  is  not  like  the  latter.  He  is  an  economic 
producer.  With  all  speed,  he  goes  ahead  and  erects 
a  fitting  building  on  his  lot,  thereby  benefitting  all  the 
other  holders  of  lots  nearby.  What  does  he  get  as 
his  reward  for  having  done  something  for  the  public 
good?  Under  the  old  system,  he  finds  his  taxes  take 
a  very  decided  jump.  The  new  building  has  added 
materially  to  his  assessment.  The  penurious  fellow 
on  the  next  lot  erects  no  building  and  so  pays  no 
higher  taxation.  Thus  society  has  placed  a  direct  and 
heavy  tax  on  enterprise  of  the  kind  that  does  things, 
builds  up  cities,  and  increases  values  all  along  the 
line.  Meanwhile,  by  decree,  the  same  society  has 
placed  a  big  premium  on  the  sluggard,  the  economic 
misfit,  the  one  who  pulls  down  rather  than  builds  up. 

"We  of  the  single  tax  persuasion  believe  that  land 
values  only  should  be  liable  to  taxation.  We  believe 
in  a  fair  and  equal  distribution  of  the  surface  of  the 
earth  among  all  human  beings  desiring  the  same.  We 
most  decidedly  would  destroy  the  holdings  of  persons 
who,  while  benefitting  society  not  one  iota,  wax  rich 
and  mighty  on  the  thrift  and  enterprise  of  their 
neighbors. 

"Understand,  we  do  not  object  to  a  man  holding  all 
the  land  he  desires.  We  do,  however,  demand  that 
he  pay  society  an  equivalent  for  the  advantages  en- 
joyed thereby. 

"Through  the  putting  into  effect  of  the  single  tax, 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  79 

the  housing  problem  of  the  nation  has,  to  a  large  de- 
gree, been  solved.  Unimproved  property,  vacant 
lots,  being  taxed  as  much  as  improved  property,  has 
made  this  class  of  realty  holdings  too  valuable  in  a 
great  majority  of  cases  to  stand  thus  unimproved. 
This  has  led  to  a  great  stimulation  of  building  in 
order  that  the  owners  of  vacant  lots  get  some  ade- 
quate returns  with  which  to  pay  the  increased  taxes. 
Naturally  the  production  of  houses  on  a  very  greatly 
multiplied  scale  has  led  to  lower  rental  charges.  This 
alone  has  been  a  godsend  to  working  humanity,  the 
wage  earners  of  the  nation. 

"The  real  reason  for  the  practical  abolition  of  the 
slums  of  New  York  city,  such  as  they  existed  forty 
or  fifty  years  ago,  has  been  an  economic  one.  Single 
taxation  has  forced  a  building  up  of  the  vacant  lots 
in  the  Bronx  and  boroughs  of  Richmond  and  Brook- 
lyn. The  large  number  of  tenements  on  the  market 
have  caused  prices  to  drop  so  that  unsanitary  tene- 
ments can  no  longer  find  occupants. 

"By  no  means  has  the  farmer  failed  to  profit  by  the 
new  system.  He  has  profited  to  a  large  extent  by 
the  fairer  means  of  adjustment  of  what  he  owes  the 
community  at  large.  The  taxes  he  pays  have  been 
virtually  cut  in  two.  Speculation  in  farming  land, 
like  speculation  in  city  realty,  has  been  practically 
stamped  out.  Increased  markets  have  filled  the  pock- 
ets of  the  farmer  as  never  before,  all  because,  in  the 
new  industrial  and  economic  readjustment,  nearly  all 
are  prosperous  and  have  the  cash  to  spend  for  the 
essentials  and  a  fair  share  of  the  luxuries  of  life. 


80  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"Unemployment  is  by  far  more  rare  than  under  the 
old  regime.  The  cause  is  not  far  to  seek.  Once  the 
artificial,  pernicious  tax  on  industry  is  removed,  fac- 
tories are  able  to  pay  far  better  wages  and  give  em- 
ployment to  far  greater  number  of  men.  Of  course 
human  nature  still  is  human  nature ;  it  can  by  no 
means  be  legislated  out  of  existence.  The  lazy  are 
unfortunately  with  us  to  some  degree.  There  are 
still  those  who  will  not  work.  There  always  will  be 
such  persons,  but  the  really  energetic  need  never  go 
a-begging  for  employment.  With  the  better  indus- 
trial conditions,  has  come  the  reduction  of  the  length 
of  hours  of  the  working  day.  It  has  by  no  means 
meant  for  a  curtailment  of  output,  but  rather  the  re- 
verse, and  the  quality  has  been  meanwhile  improved 
perceptibly." 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Bidding  Washington  a  last  adieu,  Harrington  once 
more  set  out  for  New  York  on  his  way  to  his  old 
New  England  home.  With  almost  the  fervor  of 
youth,  he  was  eagerly  counting  the  hours  till  once 
again  he  should  see  the  old  familiar  sights  of  St.  Al- 
bans and  still  better,  the  familiar  face  of  one  who 
through  all  the  long  weary  years  had  been  the  idol  of 
his  dreams. 

Enrapt  in  the  deepest  study,  the  aged  traveller 
boarded  a  limited  flyer  for  the  metropolis.  By  this 
time  he  was  so  well  accustomed  to  transportation 
through  the  air  that  this  new  journey  only  slightly  ex- 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  81 

cited  his  interest  and  curiosity.  The  aero  on  which 
he  decided  to  return  was  in  nearly  all  respects  similar 
to  the  one  in  which  he  had  sped  southward  to  the 
capital.  The  first  stop,  in  fact  the  only  one,  was  to 
be  made  at  Philadelphia. 

The  early  morning  had  been  marked  by  extreme 
sultriness  of  atmosphere.  As  the  day  progressed,  all 
humanity  had  been  sweltering  in  the  great  humidity. 
Each  passing  hour  seemed  to  add  to  human  discom- 
fort. Harrington,  however,  was  of  the  sort  that  little 
inconveniences,  such  as  presented  by  the  weather,  in 
no  way  turned  him  from  accomplishing  his  purpose 
to  travel. 

Terrible  as  was  the  day  on  the  earth,  far  less  en- 
durable was  it  far  aloft  in  the  air.  In  the  aero,  de- 
spite the  presence  of  electric  fans,  the  air  was  all  but 
stifling.  Passengers  mopped  their  brows  and  shook 
their  heads  while  their  memories  started  to  find  a  par- 
allel of  this  heat  on  a  day  so  late  in  the  summer.  The 
thermometer  in  the  corner  of  the  aero  registered  101 
degrees. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  quick,  short  peal  of  thunder 
and  the  accompanying  vivid  flash  of  lightning  that 
foretold  a  rapidly  approaching  storm.  The  single 
peal  was  followed  by  another  and  another  in  quickest 
succession.  The  blazing  sun  was  soon  hidden  by  the 
blackest  clouds  that  Harrington  thought  he  ever  had 
seen. 

Just  then  the  motor  of  the  craft  became  hopelessly 
broken.  All  attempts  to  repair  it  were  futile.  The 
passengers  suddenly  realized  the  horror  of  the  situa- 


82  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

tion — hundreds  of  feet  above  the  earth,  in  a  terrific 
thunder  storm,  their  craft  utterly  helpless. 

"There  is  absolutely  no  danger.  All  keep  their 
seats  and  remain  quiet,"  announced  the  air  pilot.  His 
face,  however,  disclosed  to  the  observing  passenger 
that  he  was  plainly  worried  over  the  critical  situation. 

With  incredible  rapidity,  the  air  became  black  as 
midnight  as  the  angry  clouds  thickened  and  deepened. 
Just  then  a  vivid  flash  of  lightning  caused  the  lights 
to  be  put  out.  In  utter  darkness  the  aero  rocked  like 
a  chip  on  the  angry  sea.  Women  screamed  and 
swooned  while  some  men  cursed  and  others  said  their 
prayers. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  rain  was  falling  in  torrents, 
affording  relief  from  the  fearful  hot  wave,  but  in  the 
present  extremity  no  one  thought  of  the  temperature. 
Home  and  loved  ones  were  uppermost  in  all  minds. 

"My  babies,  my  poor  babies,"  cried  out  one  little 
woman  in  agony,  "I  ought  never  to  have  ventured  out 
on  this  trip.  Last  night  I  had  a  presentiment  that 
something  would  happen  if  I  started  out  to-day.  I 
told  my  husband,  but  he  simply  ridiculed  it.  Why, 
oh,  why,  did  I  come?"  she  screamed,  tearing  her  hair 
hysterically. 

"Peace,  peace,  madam."  It  was  this  time  the  voice 
of  a  man  who  had  sat  in  a  corner  seat  during  the  trip 
and  whose  clothing  bespoke  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
clergyman.  "We  are  all  in  the  hands  of  a  just  and 
mighty  God.     All  will  be  well." 

Then  kneeling  in  the  aisle,  the  man  of  God  be- 
sought the  aid  of  a  divine  power  to  protect  the  trav- 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  83 

ellers  and  bring  them  safely  to  the  end  of  their  jour- 
ney. His  action  had  a  quieting  effect  upon  the  pas- 
sengers who  were  by  this  time  worked  up  almost  to 
a  frenzy  of  despair  and  anguish  as  they  realized  their 
situation. 

By  this  time  the  craft  was  pitching  heavily  and  list- 
ing from  side  to  side.  All  still  remained  in  darkness, 
the  darkness  of  almost  abject  despair. 

All  the  passengers  realized  that  with  their  power 
shut  off,  their  greatest  peril  was  from  encountering 
holes  in  the  air.  Happening  to  strike  one  of  these,  it 
would  be  little  short  of  miraculous  if  the  heavily- 
loaded  craft  failed  to  drop  with  a  crash  to  the  earth, 
hundreds  of  feet  below. 

The  air  pilot  made  frequent  trips  through  the  car 
with  an  end  as  much  to  cheer  up  the  fainting  spirits 
of  the  passengers  as  to  perform  any  physical  labor,  for 
a  look  at  the  motor  showed  its  condition  hopeless. 
Red  lights  were  displayed  at  either  end  of  the  craft, 
for  in  the  air  as  on  the  earth,  there  must  be  avoided 
the  liability  of  a  collision  with  other  passing  aeros. 

Another  fearful  report  of  thunder  rent  the  air,  fol- 
lowed by  a  huge  burst  of  flame. 

"My  God,  the  aero  is  afire!"  cried  one  of  the  pas- 
sengers in  consternation.  Such,  however,  was  not  the 
case.  Instead  they  were  treated  to  the  spectacular 
display  of  seeing  a  good-sized  conflagration,  caused 
no  doubt  by  the  lightning  at  what  appeared  to  be  al- 
most beneath  their  car  but  far  below,  earthward. 

A  huge  sheet  of  flame  shot  skyward.  The  new 
light  revealed  the  fact  that  a  great  church  tower  was 


84  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

ablaze  far,  far  below  them.  The  car  was  no  longer 
enveloped  in  darkness,  for  the  fire,  increasing  with 
great  rapidity,  soon  enveloped  the  entire  church  and 
several  neighboring  houses. 

Danger  from  the  storm  was  now  fortunately  less, 
the  fury  having  to  a  large  degree  spent  itself.  It  was 
succeeded  by  a  high  wind,  however,  and  the  little  craft 
was  in  no  less  danger.  The  sky  in  no  degree  cleared 
up  with  the  passage  of  the  rain.  In  the  place  of 
murky  rain  clouds,  were  equally  as  dark  wind  clouds. 

The  aero  was  lunging  fearfully,  driven  hither  and 
thither  with  each  fresh  gust  of  wind. 

Far  to  the  rear  could  now  be  seen  the  blazing 
church  and  surrounding  buildings,  though  the  inten- 
sity of  the  light  was  fast  lessening  as  the  flames  ate 
themselves  out. 

The  only  hope  lay  in  summoning  aid  from  a  passing 
aero.  Of  this  fact  the  pilot  frankly  informed  his  pas- 
sengers. He  still  maintained  an  optimistic  demeanor 
and  assured  all  the  timorous  ones  that  all  would  be 
well. 

Harrington,  through  all  the  trying  ordeal,  had 
maintained  commendable  bravery.  Was  it  perhaps  to 
all  end  thus?  Was  he  to  journey  way  back  to  his  na- 
tive land  to  die  without  having  seen  his  home  town 
and,  still  dearer  to  him,  the  face  of  one  he  once,  yea. 
even  now,  loved  so  well?  Well,  he  mused,  perhaps 
it  was  just  as  well.  He  had  lived  out  the  span  of 
three  score  years  and  ten.  What  more  had  he  a  right 
to  ask  ?  Was  not  his  life  a  finished  book  ?  Who  was 
there  to  shed  a  tear  if  this  was  the  end  of  all  ? 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  85 

A  terrific  crash  rent  the  air.  In  an  indescribable 
twinkling  he  felt  himself,  semi-conscious,  drop,  drop, 
drop. 

******* 

"Poor  chap,  he  is  still  alive,"  he  heard  these  words 
spoken  with  deepest  sympathy.  "He  is  frightfully 
wedged  in,  though,  in  this  pile  of  debris.  Come, 
Cyril,  quick,  lend  a  hand." 

"Poor  chap,  he  is  all  covered  with  blood,"  was  the 
next  thing  he  heard. 

Despite  his  protests  he  was  forced  to  drink  from  a 
cup  what  proved,  he  afterwards  learned,  to  be  a  swig 
of  whiskey. 

"My  God,  my  head,"  groaned  Harrington,  as  he 
was  extricated  from  the  debris.  Then  he  bethought 
himself  of  the  others.  "Go  help  out  some  of  the 
other  people.  I  am  not  badly  hurt.  There  was  a 
woman  on  the  aero  who  was  a  mother  to  young  chil- 
dren.    Go  help  her  out.     Let  me  lie  here  as  I  am." 

"All  are  cared  for.  What  we  want  to  see  to  is 
you." 

Weakly  Harrington  allowed  himself  to  be  carried 
to  a  near-by  house  where  he  was  put  to  bed  and  a 
doctor  summoned. 

The  physician  responded  quickly  and  made  a  thor- 
ough examination. 

"A  really  remarkable  case,"  he  exclaimed.  "This 
man  has  not  sustained  a  broken  bone.  He  is  suffer- 
ing from  nervous  shock,  however,  and  he  is  weak 
from  loss  of  blood.  He  must  have  rest  for  a  fort- 
night.    Then  he  will  be  as  good  as  new." 


86  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

"I  must  now  return  to  the  scene  of  the  wreck.  It 
has  been  a  fearful  disaster,''  declared  the  physician. 

Five  minutes  later  the  physician,  Dr.  Grove  by 
name,  stood  before  a  scene  of  indescribable  horror. 
Wedged  in  the  shattered  fragments  of  what  had  been 
the  two  fleetest  aeros  of  the  Washington-New  York 
line,  were  the  horribly  mutilated  bodies  of  between 
forty  and  fifty  persons.  It  was  the  old  story ;  in  the 
darkness  the  two  fleet  cars  had  failed  to  discern  the 
approach  of  the  other  and  there  occurred  a  head-on 
collision. 

Of  the  horribly  mangled  bodies,  investigation,  after 
heroic  efforts  to  free  them  from  the  debris,  showed 
that  life  was  extinct  in  all  but  three.  Many  were  so 
horribly  mutilated  that  recognition  was  impossible. 
Some  were  driven  by  force  and  violence  of  the  fall  far 
into  the  ground.  One  ghastly  corpse  was  found  with 
only  the  legs  visible,  the  entire  remainder  of  the  body 
having  been  driven  head  downward  into  the  earth. 
Upon  removal,  it  was  found  to  be  the  body  of  the 
woman,  the  mother  of  the  young  children  left  at  home 
and  who  had  expressed  a  presentiment  when  the 
storm  first  broke  that  a  terrible  tragedy  was  imminent. 

The  body  of  the  pilot  was  among  the  first  removed. 
Faithful  to  the  last,  he  had  met  death  like  a  soldier 
heroically  at  his  post  of  duty.  The  body  was  identi- 
fied only  through  papers  found  in  a  pocket. 

By  the  aid  of  artificial  lights,  the  ruins  were  care- 
fully explored  through  all  the  long  hours  of  night,  a 
huge  crowd  of  curiosity  seekers,  mutely  and  rever- 
ently looking  on.     Ambulances    there  were  in  good 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  87 

numbers,  but  there  was  but  little  need  for  them  all,  a 
single  wagon  easily  conveying  the  three  frightfully 
injured  survivors  to  the  Havre  de  Grace  General  Hos- 
pital, for  the  wreck  had  occurred  almost  directly  over 
the  Maryland  city. 

Willing  hands  scoured  every  inch  of  the  wreck,  but 
not  another  living  person  was  found.  Then  came  the 
work  of  removing  the  dead.  Torsos,  rendered  thus 
by  the  frightful  impact,  the  arms  and  legs  being 
slashed  from  the  body  as  if  done  by  a  knife,  bodies 
tangled  and  twisted  were  tenderly  removed.  Just  as 
the  light  of  a  new  day  was  breaking  over  the  Mary- 
land hills,  the  night's  work  was  completed  and  the 
last  corpse  removed. 

Several  of  the  victims,  investigation  showed,  were 
citizens  of  Havre  de  Grace  who  had  been  walking 
along  the  street  when  like  a  bolt  out  of  the  angry, 
storm-swept  sky,  the  fearful  wreckage  had  crashed 
down  upon  them,  hurling  them  to  a  fearful  death 
underneath  the  heavy  weight  of  debris. 

The  next  morning  the  Havre  de  Grace  papers  placed 
the  death  list  at  forty-five,  with  four,  including  our 
hero,  Harrington,  surviving,  with  injuries  of  a  nature 
that  need  not  necessarily  prove  fatal.  An  interesting 
account  of  his  sensations  was  given  by  the  paper,  be- 
ing furnished  in  an  interview  with  the  clergyman, 
Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  who  fortunately  escaped  with  but 
superficial  injuries. 

"We  were  tossing  around,  the  frail  craft  having 
been  effectually  disabled  in  the  storm  of  the  most  vio- 
lent nature  I  ever  experienced,  like  a  chip  on  a  storm- 


88  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

tossed  sea.  Every  now  and  then  a  lurch  of  greater 
velocity  than  usual  would  hurl  men  and  women  from 
their  seats  out  into  the  aisle.  In  absolute  darkness 
we  prayed,  groaned  and  prepared  to  say  good-bye  to 
all  that  we  held  dear  on  earth.  In  those  fleeting  mo- 
ments we  lived  years.  With  bated  breath  every  soul 
there  felt  an  inward  presentiment  that  the  end  of 
earthly  existence  was  near. 

"Then  came  that  crash ;  it  seemed  as  if  ten  thou- 
sand cannons  were  exploding  in  my  ear.  I  was  thor- 
oughly conscious,  which  made  the  experience  all  the 
more  terrible.  Think  of  a  thousand  groans,  screams, 
despairing  wails  as  of  a  poor,  hunted  creature  fatally 
shot,  then  down,  down  we  dropped.  I  felt  as  if  we 
were  falling  500  miles.  My  heart  seemed  to  stop. 
My  blood  congealed  in  my  arteries  and  veins.  I  felt 
that  the  downward  trip  was  a  half  hour  in  duration. 
I  lived  in  fancy  years  and  years.  My  every  sin  of 
more  than  fifty  years  I  reviewed  and  mentally  asked 
divine  forgiveness. 

"We  shot  down,  down,  oh,  the  horrible  sensation 
as  I  now  recall  it  of  feeling  that  there  is  no  firm  sup- 
port underneath  to  hold  to  for  protection ! 

"I  saw  the  lights  of  a  high  Havre  de  Grace  sky- 
scraper. My  God,  what  if  we  should  land  on  its 
lofty  tower !  Still  plunging  downward  we  went.  I 
now  saw  the  street  lights  all  a  mass  of  blaze.  There 
was  a  cannon-like  crash.  We  struck  the  earth  in  the 
fearful  tangled  mass  comprising  the  ruins  of  two  air- 
ships and  their  precious  freight.  That  single  crash 
fills  me  with  indescribable  horror  as  I  think  of  it.     It 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  89 

plunged  more  than  two  score  of  passengers  into  in- 
stant eternity. 

"Providence  was  very  kind  to  me.  Far  better  than 
I  ever  merited.  It  seems  that  a  heap  of  pneumatic 
cushions  from  the  seats  of  the  aero  piled  up  in  a  heap 
and  dropping  under  me  broke  the  force  of  my  fall. 
To  this  phenomenon  I  undoubtedly  owe  my  life." 

Trained  workmen  quickly  removed  traces  of  the 
catastrophe.  For  severals  days  the  city  of  Havre  de 
Grace  practically  suspended  business  out  of  respect  to 
the  dead.  Inquests  were  ordered,  but  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  locate  the  responsibility  for  the  wreck.  With 
bated  breath  the  citizens  for  some  time  talked  of  the 
fearful  accident,  but  then  it  was  almost  forgotten. 
Advanced  civilization  had  accomplished  much  in  the 
way  of  reform,  but  it  was  as  impossible  in  i960  as  in 
1910  to  overcome  accidents  due  to  the  frailty  of  hu- 
man nature  or,  as  many  preferred  to  regard  it,  the 
workings  of  a  mysterious  Providence. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Fate  had  dealt  specially  kindly  with  Mr.  Harring- 
ton. Xot  only  had  he  in  a  most  miraculous  manner 
escaped  death  in  the  airship  wreck,  but  still  fortunate 
again,  he  had  been  taken  into  the  home  of  one  of  the 
kindest  and  most  hospitable  families  in  Maryland. 
Immediately  after  the  disaster,  instead  of  being  taken 
to  a  hospital,  Harrington  had  been  removed  to  the 
home  of  a  family  by  the  name  of  Harter. 


90  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

Here  the  stranger  was  accorded  right  royal  South- 
ern hospitality.  To  be  sure  the  family  was  by  no  means 
rich,  but  such  as  they  possessed  was  readily  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  newcomer.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harter  were 
quite  well  along  in  years.  A  married  son  of  theirs 
lived  on  a  farm  in  the  country  not  far  from  the  city. 
As  soon  as  Harrington  was  brought  to  the  house  and 
they  ascertained  that  his  injuries  were  not  fatal,  they 
became  specially  solicitous  as  to  his  welfare  and  were 
determined  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  facilitate 
his  rapid  recovery.  Thinking  that  country  air  and 
pure  farm  products  obtained  first  hand  would  hasten 
his  recovery,  they  asked  the  physician  in  charge  as  to 
the  expediency  of  a  removal  of  their  patient  to  the 
son's  home  in  the  country.  The  doctor  gave  his  ap- 
proval, Harrington  was  thoroughly  willing,  hence  the 
removal  was  made  the  second  day  after  the  accident. 

Here  among  the  most  favorable  circumstances, 
Harrington  was  nursed  back  to  health  and  strength. 

Although  he  was  not  seriously  injured,  Harring- 
ton's system  had  experienced  so  great  a  shock  which, 
taken  into  consideration  with  his  advanced  age,  led 
his  physician  to  issue  orders  that  he  was  to  remain 
in  bed  and  remain  quiet  for  a  week  or  more. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  reluctance  that  the  patient 
agreed  to  abide  by  the  edict  of  the  physician.  The 
enforced  period  of  idleness  was  not  at  all  to  the  liking 
of  the  aged  traveller.  Incidentally,  however,  it  gave 
him  an  opportunity  which  he  would  not  have  other- 
wise have  had  of  studying  the  conditions  in  rural  com- 
munities as  they  then  existed. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  or 

The  Harter  family  consisted  of  father,  mother,  son 
and  daughter.  The  children's  ages  were  fourteen  and 
sixteen  years  respectively. 

Harrington  found  himself  installed  in  the  spare  bed 
room  where  he  was  accorded  the  most  painstaking 
attention. 

'"We  want  you  to  hurry  and  get  strong  and  well," 
declared  Mrs.  Harter,  a  pleasant-faced  woman  of 
middle  age.  She  was  blessed  with  a  gift  for  cooking, 
and  straightway  she  set  out  to  prepare  many  kinds  of 
tempting  morsels,  broths  and  dainties.  Harrington 
was  able  to  partake  of  but  few  of  these,  but  the  well 
wishes  and  apparent  sincerity  and  desire  for  real  help- 
fulness of  his  hosts  did  much  toward  effecting  a 
speedy  recovery. 

"We  are  just  plain  country  folk,"  protested  Mr. 
Harter.  "but  whatever  we  have  it  is  yours  for  the 
asking." 

The  story  that  Harrington  was  a  rich  Australian, 
who  had  just  returned  to  America  after  a  long  ab- 
sence, was  circulated  freely  throughout  the  country- 
side and  attracted  more  than  ordinary  interest.  All 
curiosity  seekers  were,  however,  scrupulously  turned 
away  from  the  Harter  door  and  allowed  in  no  way  to 
inconvenience  or  annoy  the  sick  man. 

Daily.  Alice  Harter,  the  winsome  daughter  of  the 
family,  vied  good  naturedly  with  her  brother,  Tom, 
in  bestowing  little  favors  on  Harrington.'  Each 
morning  a  fine  new  bouquet  of  roses,  carnations  or 
other  flowers,  with  the  dew  still  glistening  on  them, 
were  carried  by  Alice  to  the  sick  room,  while  Tom 


92  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

daily  upon  his  return  from  his  hunts  exhibited  with 
pardonable  pride  the  small  game  he  had  shot. 

Each  would  approach  the  sick  room  on  tip  toe  and 
first  ascertain  whether  or  not  the  patient  were  awake. 
Assured  of  this  fact,  they  would  timidly  enter  the 
room,  performing  their  errands  of  love.  In  no  case 
would  they  linger,  for  they  had  been  carefully  in- 
structed that  they  must  in  no  way  tire  the  patient. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  first  week  of  Harrington's  stay 
was  passed  largely  in  solitude.  His  only  diversions 
and  interruptions  being  the  visits  of  the  doctor  and 
the  calls  of  Mrs.  Harter  bringing  delicacies  and  ad- 
ministering medicine  beside  these  half  timid  calls  from 
the  two  children. 

There  was  opportunity  for  little  conversation.  In 
fact  the  doctor  had  so  ordered  and  Harrington  was  in 
little  mood  for  sustained  conversation. 

The  second  week  found  Harrington  so  improved 
that  he  was  permitted  to  sit  up  and  even  take  walks 
around  the  place. 

What  aroused  Harrington's  attention,  when  he  once 
was  able  to  get  out  doors  again,  was  the  well  kept, 
prosperous  air  that  pervaded  the  farm.  Not  only 
were  the  buildings  kept  up  in  the  best  condition  and 
the  stock  apparently  of  the  best,  but  there  was  an  air 
of  happy  contentment  everywhere  present. .  In  noth- 
ing was  there  an  aspect  of  provincialism  and  lone- 
someness  seen  so  commonly  years  before  in  average 
rural  communities. 

"Why,  Mrs.  Harter,"  declared  Harrington  one  day, 
"you  people  are  an  inspiration  to  me  of  the  value  and 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  93 

happiness  to  be  derived  on  the  farm.  In  my  day, 
farm  life  was  considered  so  lonesome  and  unremuner- 
ative  that  the  young  men  were  in  great  numbers  de- 
serting the  country  for  the  more  attractive  city  as  a 
sphere  for  their  careers." 

"Life  in  the  country  is  in  no  way  lonesome,"  as- 
serted Mrs.  Harter  earnestly.  "Of  course  we  have, 
as  did  you  in  your  time  in  America,  such  things  as 
rural  mail  delivery,  telephone,  street  cars,  but  also  we 
have  aero  lines  affording  quick  and  frequent  service 
to  the  cities,  but  still  more  especially  we  have  social 
centers  in  nearly  every  live  town  in  the  country. 
Community  Hall  over  in  the  village  is  the  social  and 
political  center  of  the  place." 

"Indeed  this  is  interesting  news.  Years  ago  a  num- 
ber of  cities  tried  the  experiment  in  the  United  States 
of  opening  the  school  houses  evenings  as  a  meeting 
place  for  the  people,  young  and  old,"  declared  Har- 
rington. 

"That  is  just  where  the  present  movement  got  its 
origin.  It  was  realized  that  the  farmer  and  the 
farmer's  wife  led  the  most  isolated  and  lonesome  ex- 
istence of  all  persons.  This  detracted  from  comfort 
and  pleasure  of  life  in  rural  sections. 

"The  business  or  professional  man  of  the  city  works 
hard  during  working  hours,  but  when  these  are  over 
he  shuts  up  shop  and  goes  home  and  later  seeks  diver- 
sion at  his  club  or  at  the  theatre.  The  farmer,  on  the 
other  hand,  until  rural  centers  were  inaugurated,  had 
no  diversion.  The  close  of  a  hard  day's  work  in  the 
fields   found    him    with    still    laboriously   monotonous 


94  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

chores  to  do  until  late  evening.  Then,  thoroughly 
tired,  he  gladly  retired  to  be  up  long  ere  sunrise  the 
following  day  to  go  through  the  same  thing  the  next 
day  and  every  day  thereafter. 

"The  life  of  a  farmer's  wife  was  fully  as  monot- 
onous. It  was  more  truth  than  fiction  that  'A 
farmer  works  from  sun  to  sun,  but  the  work  of  a 
farmer's  wife  is  never  done.' 

"We  all  four  derive  our  greatest  pleasure  from  life 
in  the  country  through  our  relations  with  the  local 
social  center.  It  is  an  excellent  meeting  place  for  the 
populace — a  place  where  all  who  are  respectable  are 
on  a  level. 

"Aside  from  the  social  side,  there  is  the  educatfcnal 
side.  Community  Hall  is  commonly  referred  to  as" 
the  People's  University.  A  large  number  of  people, 
farmers  and  their  wives,  sons  and  daughters,  many 
of  them  of  mature  years,  are  taking  studies  evenings 
there.  I  am  myself  studying  French  this  winter,  while 
my  husband  is  taking  German.  Tom  is  busying  him- 
self two  nights  a  week  with  manual  training,  while 
Alice  is  making  herself  more  proficient  to  take  my 
place  some  day  by  a  course  in  Domestic  Science." 

"Community  Hall  will  most  certainly  be  one  of  the 
places  that  I  shall  visit  before  leaving,"  declared  Har- 
rington, "that  is,  if  you  are  so  good  as  to  invite  me." 

"You  will  most  certainly  be  welcome,"  was  the  re- 
assuring reply.  "But  now  as  your  nurse  I  order  you 
to  lie  down  and  rest,  for  you  have  been  talking  and 
exercising  too  freely  for  your  own  good,  I  fear,"  de- 
clared Mrs.  Harter  solicitously. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  95 

Despite  protests  that  he  was  equal  to  a  much  longer 
walk  and  conversation,  he  was  persuaded  to  retire  to 
his  room  to  husband  his  weakened  energies  for  an- 
other day. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Harrington's  return  to  health  was  marked  with  sur- 
prising celerity.  For  this  he  gave  the  credit,  and  no 
doubt  with  much  justice,  to  the  careful  nursing  ac- 
corded him  by  his  new-found  friends. 

"I  do  not  see  that  there  is  any  need  for  me  to  come 
again."  declared  the  attending  physician  a  little  over 
a  week  after  the  accident. 

"My  orders  from  now  on  are  that  you  be  careful 
not  to  over-exert.  Just  lie  around  and  take  it  easy 
for  the  next  fortnight  and  you  will  be  yourself  again. 

"Now  one  thing  more,  my  good  man.  Do  not  try 
to  leave  your  present  quarters  too  soon.  Just  because 
I  say  you  are  nearly  yourself  again  does  not  mean 
that  you  require  no  more  careful  nursing.  I  advise 
that  you  remain  in  this  good  family  for  a  number  of 
days  more.  You  will  want  more  nursing,  and  Mrs. 
Harter  has  demonstrated  her  ability  beyond  a  doubt 
in  that  line." 

With  a  pleasant  smile  and  bow,  the  physician  van- 
ished. Harrington,  with  a  long,  far-away  look, 
watched  his  form  proceed  with  sprightly  step  far 
down  the  road. 

A  feeling  of  homesickness  once  more  began  to 
creep  over  him.     Despite  the  extreme   courtesy  ex- 


96  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

tended  by  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harter  and  their  two 
children,  Harrington  felt  a  longing  for  some  one  else. 
One  glimpse  of  a  single  familiar  face  would  do  him 
far  more  good  than  the  best  medicine  and  nursing. 
Even  when  surrounded  by  every  luxury  and  attention 
that  money  can  purchase,  there  is  something  missing 
when  old,  familiar  faces  and  friends  are  utterly  lack- 
ing around  the  sick  bed.  Then,  if  ever,  does  one 
crave  the  kindly  love  and  attention  of  one's  own  flesh 
and  blood. 

Would  she  come  to  him  were  he  to  send  a  telegram 
to  far-away  Vermont?  He  was  by  no  means  sure. 
Then  again  such  action  would  destroy  all  the  pleasure- 
able  surprise  at  reunion  when  once  he  stole  a  march 
upon  her  and  once  again  in  the  flesh  stood  before  her 
in  St.  Albans. 

Harrington's  reverie  was  interrupted  just  then  by 
the  entrance  into  the  room  of  Mrs.  Harter. 

"Why  is  my  patient  so  pensive  this  bright  morning? 
I  hope  it  is  no  reflection  on  my  ability  as  nurse.  A 
penny  for  your  thoughts,"  was  the  pleasant  salutation 
of  his  hostess. 

"I  was  thinking,  Mrs.  Harter,  that  I  ought  soon  to 
be  leaving  here  and  thereby  relieving  you  of  a  load  of 
care  and  responsibility  that  was  so  unceremoniously 
thrust  upon  you.  The  doctor  to-day  told  me  that  I 
am  so  far  recovered  that  he  does  not  consider  it  nec- 
essary that  he  call  again.  He  wants  me  to  remain 
quiet  for  a  few  days  more,  but  I  am  sure  I  am  now 
able  to  resume  my  interrupted  journey." 

"Now  I  shall  hear    of    nothing  of    the  kind,  and 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  97 

neither  will  my  husband.  You  are  here  as  our  guest 
and  we  expect  you  to  stay  under  our  roof  indefinitely, 
or  so  long  as  we  treat  you  well,"  she  added  with  a 
smile. 

"Then,  too,  I  want  you  to  see  what  sort  of  a  com- 
munity we  are.  You  expressed  interest  in  Commu- 
nity Hall.  As  yet,  you  have  not  been  there.  To- 
night will  be  an  excellent  time  for  you  to  see  its  work- 
ings at  its  best.  There  is  to  be  a  free  stereopticon  lec- 
ture by  a  Harvard  professor;  meanwhile  in  another 
part  of  the  building  the  classes  will  be  in  full  swing. 
If  you  feel  able  to  undergo  the  ride  over,  we  shall  be 
only  too  pleased  to  have  you  go  over  to  town  with  us 
to-night." 

Harrington  heartily  thanked  his  hostess  and  prom- 
ised that  he  would  be  only  too  glad  to  attend. 

That  night  the  Harters  got  out  their  big  red  tour- 
ing car  and  carefully  assisted  Harrington  to  a  seat 
therein.  A  brisk  ride  of  ten  minutes  over  good  coun- 
try roads  brought  the  party  to  Community  Hall. 

This  structure  was  a  large  two-story  building  with 
high  basement.  To-night  the  entire  structure  was 
ablaze  with  light.  A  merry,  well-dressed  throng  of 
farmer  folk  was  coming  in  a  ceaseless  stream  in  auto- 
mobiles and  smart  rigs. 

Harrington  was  escorted  to  the  big  parlor  on  the 
first  floor.  To  his  surprise  it  possessed  most  of  the 
adjuncts  of  the  well  equipped  club  house  of  the  early 
part  of  the  twentieth  century.  Oriental  rugs  adorned 
the  polished  hardwood  floors,  the  furniture  was  in  the 
best  and  most  approved  style.     Potted  plants  added 


98  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

to  the  grace  and  refinement  of  the  room.  Oil  paint- 
ings, inexpensive,  but  again  in  good  taste,  were  ar- 
ranged around  the  walls.  A  handsome  baby  grand 
piano  was  placed  at  one  end  of  the  room. 

In  this  general  assemblage  room,  Harrington  was 
introduced  to  a  large  number  of  the  farmer  folk  of  the 
town  and  surrounding  country.  The  lecturer  of  the 
evening,  the  Harvard  professor,  was  already  on  the 
scene  and  was  being  generally  introduced  to  the  as- 
sembled throng.  Social  intercourse,  pure,  free,  un- 
trammelled, was  here  exhibited  on  all  sides.  To  all 
apparent  purposes,  cast  and  social  prestige  was  lack- 
ing, all  meeting  on  an  equality,  each  neighbor  ranking 
socially  as  well  as  his  neighbor. 

After  a  period  of  social  intercourse,  all  adjourned  to 
the  auditorium  on  the  same  floor  for  the  lecture.  This 
room  was  constructed  with  a  good  sized  stage  and 
seats  elevated  in  the  manner  customary  in  theatres. 
The  seating  capacity  was  nearly  1,000,  Harrington 
was  informed. 

From  eight  to  nine  o'clock  that  night  the  public  was 
treated  to  an  excellent  lecture  illustrated  with  many 
lantern  slides.  A  great  variety  of  views  of  travel 
were  shown  to  the  evident  enjoyment  of  the  assem- 
blage. 

After  the  lecture,  Harrington  was  taken  on  a  tour 
of  inspection  of  the  building.  On  the  first  floor  be- 
yond the  auditorium  was  a  large  room  used  for  ban- 
quets. A  kitchen  adjoining  was  well  supplied  with 
an  electric  stove  and  all  modern  dishes  and  adjuncts 
for  the  serving  of  banquets. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  99 

On  the  second  floor  were  several  class  and  recita- 
tion rooms.  Each  evening  in  the  week,  except  Sun- 
day, various  classes  in  the  modern  languages,  his- 
tory, science,  political  economy,  domestic  science  and 
manual  training  were  held. 

Harrington  was  surprised  to  see  in  the  classes  many 
men  and  women  well  advanced  in  years,  farmers  and 
their  wives  from  the  neighboring  farms,  rubbing 
shoulders  and  in  good  natured  rivalry  endeavoring  to 
first  master  the  intricacies  of  the  German  or  French 
grammar  with  the  younger  men  and  girls. 

The  basement  of  the  building  disclosed  a  well- 
equipped  swimming  pool  and  various  bath  appliances. 
An  adjoining  room  was  equipped  with  bowling  alley 
and  billiard  and  pool  tables.  All  were  in  use,  and 
the  young  men  from  off  the  farms  were  to  all  appear- 
ances deriving  fully  as  much  enjoyment  as  do  the 
scions  of  the  rich  in  the  exclusive  clubs  in  the  large 
cities. 

"Well,  I  have  certainly  enjoyed  my  evening,"  de- 
clared Harrington  when  he  was  conveyed  home  that 
evening  from  his  tour  of  inspection.  "In  this  little 
country  town  you  have  accomplished  what  would  have 
been  regarded  as  remarkable  in  a  place  so  small  years 
ago." 

"It  is  only  a  single  example  and  by  no  means  an 
especially  exceptional  case.  It  is  duplicated  in  almost 
every  town  of  500  or  more  people  in  nearly  every 
state  in  the  Union.  It  is  the  outgrowth  of  an  effort 
to  make  life  attractive  on  the  farm  and  stem  the  tide 
that  for  years  was  sucking  from  rural  communities 


ioo  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

to  the  city  the  best  young  blood,"  declared  Mr.  Har- 
ter. 

"Now  the  tide  has  truly  been  stemmed.  Life  in 
the  country  has  sufficient  charms  and  social  advan- 
tages to  keep  a  large  percentage  of  young  men  on 
farms  and  even  attracts  many  from  the  cities  of  the 
desirable  kinds  of  citizens." 

"In  the  assembly  hall  where  we  were  to-night  is 
given  some  lecture  or  entertainment  nearly  every 
night.  Sometimes  it  is  a  musical,  consisting  of  local 
talent.  Again  it  is  an  amateur  dramatic  event.  Lec- 
tures of  travel  or  of  an  otherwise  instructive  talent 
are  given  as  to-night  every  little  while." 

"All  this  is  exceedingly  interesting,"  declared  Har- 
rington, "but  what  interests  me  is  where  the  money 
comes  from,  who  foots  the  bill  for  all  this.  Are  mem- 
bers taxed  or  assessed  heavily  to  produce  revenue  for 
all  this  many-sided  work?" 

"This  is  another  example  of  the  good  workings  of 
the  single  tax,  the  principles  of  which  are  no  doubt 
well  known  to  you.  Every  tax  payer  is  eligible  to 
enjoy  free,  together  with  his  family,  all  the  advan- 
tages of  Community  Hall.  Those  who  own  no  real 
estate  and  thus  pay  no  taxes  are  eligible  to  member- 
ship by  the  payment  of  a  nominal  fee.  Like  public 
highways  and  public  schools,  the  social  or  community 
center  is  supported  from  the  public  purse,  from  the 
funds  derived  from  single  taxation." 

"Is  not  the  expense  of  keeping  up  so  costly  an  en- 
terprise a  heavy  drain  on  the  public  treasury?"  asked 
Harrington. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  101 

"We  do  not  feel  it  a  heavy  drain  at  all,"  was  the 
reply.  "It  has  more  than  paid  for  itself  in  the  added 
amount  of  taxes  turned  into  the  treasury  from  men 
of  ambition  who  would  have  long  ere  this  deserted 
the  farm  and  thus  escaped  payment  of  taxes.  The 
community  work  has  kept  them  home  and  to  a  large 
degree  been  instrumental  in  solving  the  abandoned 
farm  problem.  But  to  get  down  to  figures,  what  do 
you  think  it  cost  the  town  last  year  to  maintain  Com- 
munity Hall?" 

At  Harrington's  protest  of  lack  of  knowledge,  Har- 
ter  replied : 

"It  cost  an  even  $2,500  to  foot  the  bill  for  every- 
thing last  year.  The  superintendent  of  the  work  is 
the  principal  of  the  village  high  school,  a  talented 
young  man  of  rising  ambition.  He  gave  his  time, 
so  interested  is  he  in  the  work.  Besides  this,  he  also 
gave  a  number  of  lectures  free  of  charge.  The 
classes  are  maintained  chiefly  by  members  of  the  high 
school  faculty,  and  they  charge  but  a  nominal  amount 
for  their  services.  Of  course  there  is  a  janitor  to  be 
paid  and  also  heating,  lighting  and  other  incidental 
expenses,  but  these  are  in  no  way  large." 

"The  work  is  wonderfully  interesting,"  declared 
Harter,  warming  up  to  his  subject.  "Perhaps  my 
wife  did  not  tell  you,  but  I  am  taking  a  course  of  Ger- 
man twice  a  week  and  Mrs.  Harter  is  wrestling  with 
French  at  the  same  time.  Why,  I  am  as  much  inter- 
ested in  that  course  as  a  boy  with  his  first  kite.  In 
my  early  days  I  did  not  have  all  the  advantages  for 
an  education  that  I  desired.     Accordingly,  I  have  ever 


102  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

since  been  supplementing  my  limited  knowledge  and 
endeavoring  to  prove  that  "it  is  never  too  late  to 
learn." 

"Another  very  decided  advantage  of  Community 
Hall  is  the  fact  that  it  is  in  truth  a  community  hall. 
When  a  new  bridge  is  wanted  or  the  construction  of  a 
new  highway  is  deemed  essential,  a  regular  town 
meeting  free-for-all  debate  is  held.  Then  tax  payers 
can  appear  and  argue  pro  and  con.  Again,  recently, 
a  man  wholly  unworthy  to  hold  public  office  was  prom- 
inently mentioned  for  first  selectman.  A  rousing 
good  mass  meeting  was  held  and  served  to  put  a  dent, 
too  deep  to  be  effaced,  in  the  candidacy  of  the  aspirant 
for  office.  The  old-fashioned  New  England  town 
meeting  feature  is  by  no  means  the  least  important  of 
all  the  functions  of  the  work." 

"But  come,  I  fear  all  this  excitement  has  been  too 
wearing,  Mr.  Harrington,"  declared  Mr.  Harter  as 
the  auto  drew  up  before  the  home  door. 

Harrington,  much  impressed  with  all  he  had  seen 
and  heard,  protested  that  he  was  in  no  degree  any  the 
worse  for  his  outing,  but  rather  had  been  strength- 
ened and  mentally  brightened  by  the  new  insight  into 
the  conduct  of  a  real  rural  social  center. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

From  this  time  on,  Harrington  gained  rapidly  in 
strength  and  soon  was  able  to  take  long  walks  about 
the   farm,   inspecting  the  well-tilled   soil,  the  thrifty 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  103 

growing  crops,  and  fine  blooded  stock.  Everything 
about  the  Harter  farm  was  up  to  a  high  standard  of 
excellency.  Harter  confessed  that  many  of  the  up- 
to-date  ideas  he  had  received  from  attendance  at  the 
lectures  at  Community  Hall  where,  interspersed  with 
musicals,  dramas  and  other  entertainments,  were  lec- 
tures frequently  on  farm  management,  diseases  of 
stock  and  their  remedies,  the  growing  of  vegetables 
and  crops  and  other  subjects  of  vital  import  to  the 

farmer. 

"Really,  farm  life  never  appealed  to  me  so  much  as 
now !"  exclaimed  Harrington  after  one  of  his  tours 
of  inspection  of  the  place.  "Why,  Harter,  you  really 
seem  to  take  a  real  interest  in  your  work,  and  life  out 
here  is  in  no  way  isolated." 

"As  you  observed  that  night  over  at  Community 
Hall  a  farmer  now  has  a  chance  to  indulge  in  social 
intercourse  and  to,  if  he  will,  cultivate  his  mind,"  was 

the  replv.  . 

"In  the  cities  I  have  heard  much  concerning  the 
single  tax.  Do  you  .find  it  works  out  as  well  in  rural 
communities  as  in  towns?"  asked  Harrington. 

"The  single  tax  most  certainly  has  made  good  here 
to  a  decided  degree,"  was  the  enthusiastic  response. 

"You  have  seen  our  Community  Hall;  you  have 
also  observed  the  character  of  the  highways  here- 
abouts. These  two  serve  as  concrete  examples.  Their 
existence  in  the  present  fine  condition  is  due  almost 
entirely  to  the  single  tax.  Without  it  I  doubt  if  Com- 
munity Hall  would  be  there,  and  I  am  sure  that  the 


104  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

country  highways  were  never  so  fine  as  they  are  now 
under  the  existing  system  of  taxation." 

"But,  Mr.  Harter,  is  it  not  true  that  your  taxes  are 
actually  higher  now  than  under  the  old  way?" 

"Yes,  I  must  admit  there  has  been  a  slight  increase. 
The  many  new  improvements  required  it.  Under  the 
old  system  the  aggregate  tax,  town,  county,  state  and 
national,  totalled  here  usually  about  twelve  mills. 
Now,  under  single  taxation,  it  is  ordinarily  fifteen  or 
eighteen  mills.  There  is,  however,  sufficient  increase 
in  general  prosperity  to  more  than  meet  the  added  ex- 
pense. The  people,  rank  and  file,  are  better  able  to 
pay  eighteen  or  twenty  mills  than  they  were  half  that 
sum  under  the  old  plan." 

"Then,  again,  resumed  Harter,  the  people  get  their 
money's  worth  now  more  than  ever  before.  There  is 
far  less  red  tape  in  the  collection  of  taxes.  A  whole 
army  of  tax  gatherers  and  public  officials  have  been 
eliminated  to  the  financial  saving  of  the  public  treas- 
ury and  for  the  purity  of  the  administration  in  gen- 
eral. There  is  less  cause  and  opportunity  for  grafting 
than  formerly.  One  official  will  not  steal  as  much  as 
ten,  especially  when  his  peculations  can  be  more  easily 
detected." 

"We  used  to  hear  so  much  of  abandoned  farms 
years  ago,"  declared  Harrington.  "Has  the  single 
tax  had  any  effect  upon  them?" 

"Now  you  have  struck  the  keynote,  perhaps,  of  the 
whole  matter.  The  abandoned  farm  problem  has  been 
very  largely  solved.  Agricultural  life  has  been  made 
so  much  more  attractive  that  youth  now  in  far  greater 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  105 

numbers  remain  on  the  old  homesteads,  but  this  is  not 
all  by  any  means.  The  single  tax  has  been  the  real 
solution  of  this  vexed  problem. 

'"Under  the  old  plan  of  taxation,  an  abandoned  farm 
escaped  with  very  light  tax.  Now,  acre  for  acre,  the 
abandoned  farm,  if  there  are  any  (fortunately,  there 
are  very  few,  if  any),  has  to  pay  practically  the  same 
tax  as  the  farm  that  is  in  the  most  thrifty  and  highly 
developed  state.  Obviously,  persons  cannot  afford  to 
hold  idle  land  or  land  from  which  there  is  little  or  no 
return  financially ;  the  result  has  been  the  reclamation 
and  complete  rejuvenation  of  acres  and  acres  of  for- 
saken farms." 

By  this  time  Harter  and  Harrington  had  walked 
back  to  the  house,  as  it  was  nearly  time  for  the  noon 
meal.  The  latter  was  in  a  thoughtful  mood  and  si- 
lently entered  the  house. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  family  was  seated  around 
the  dinner  table.  Despite  the  fame  of  Southern  cook- 
ery, and  Mrs.  Harter  had  on  a  number  of  occasions 
since  Harrington's  arrival  demonstrated  her  ability, 
Harrington  observed  that  the  family  pretty  generally 
adhered  to  a  very  plain  but  eminently  wholesome 
daily  bill  of  fare. 

For  dinner  that  noon  they  had  mashed  potatoes  and 
poached  eggs,  boiled  rice,  corn  bread  and  butter.  The 
drink  was  either  sweet  milk  or  buttermilk;  and  for 
dessert  one  had  the  option  of  prunes,  dates,  oranges, 
bananas  or  apples. 

The  breakfast  menu  was  usually  in  the  nature  of 
some  cooked  cereal  with  cream  and  toasted  bread  with 


106  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

butter.  While  at  night  the  lunch  served  consisted 
often  of  mush  and  milk,  baked  beans,  toast,  hot  milk 
and  crackers,  ending  with  assorted  nuts  and  fruit. 

"You  seem  to  have  systematized  the  work  of  a 
farmer's  wife  to  a  surprising  degree,"  was  Harring- 
ton's remark  to  his  hostess  at  dinner  that  noon. 

"I  find  my  household  duties  exceedingly  light,  for 
we  lead  the  so-called  simple  life,"  was  the  reply. 

"None  of  you  four  seem  to  have  sacrificed  your 
health  thereby,"  was  the  good  natured  rejoinder. 

"We  live,  for  the  most  part,  strictly  vegetarian  lives 
and  avoid  highly  seasoned  foods  and  pastry.  We  also 
take  much  exercise  in  the  open  and  accordingly  there 
is  little  need  for  a  doctor,"  declared  Mrs.  Harter. 

"We  have  not  always  so  lived,  however;  it  is  only 
the  last  few  years  that  we  have  really  learned  to  live 
correctly  and  simply.  Over  at  Havre  de  Grace  the 
branch  of  the  National  Health  Department  has  been 
painstakingly  showing  us  how  to  live  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  simple,  wholesome  hygiene,  and  has 
shown  us  to  adopt  largely  the  vegetarian  life." 

"You  are  certainly  good  advertisements  for  that 
kind  of  diet,"  declared  Harrington. 

"The  simple  life  needs  little  advertisement,"  de- 
clared Mrs.  Harter,  smiling,  "since  so  many  have 
adopted  such  plan  of  living.  Incidentally  I  find  that 
I  am  to  a  large  degree  emancipated  from  kitchen 
drudgery.  What  little  cooking  I  do  requires  but  lit- 
tle of  my  time,  and  I  have  an  abundance  of  oppor- 
tunity for  rest,   recreation  and  mental  improvement. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  107 

That  is  why  I  am  able  to  take  a  course  of  study  at 
Community  Hall." 

"You  are  certainly  an  exponent  of  both  cooking 
and  nursing,  as  well  as  of  the  simple  life.  I  feel  that 
I  owe  my  continued  unprofitable  existence  to  a  large 
degree,  if  not  entirely,  to  the  great  painstaking  care  I 
have  received  here  since  the  accident,"  declared  Har- 
rington. "The  life  you  lead  here  on  the  farm  has 
been  of  great  interest  to  me.  What  troubles  me  most 
is  how  I  shall  ever  be  able  to  repay  you  for  the  kind- 
ness extended  to  an  absolute  stranger." 

"Tut,  tut,  no  more  of  that,"  declared  Harter  depre- 
catingly.  "It  has  been  only  an  insignificant  little  that 
we  have  been  able  to  do.  You  would  surely  do  as 
much  for  us  were  we  placed  in  similar  circumstances. 
You  can  best  repay  us  by  bestowing  kindness  to  some 
other  poor  soul  in  distress  or  need  of  any  kind.  That 
will  be  the  best  pay  we  can  receive." 

"I  certainly  will  gladly  do  that  much,  but  I  shall  in- 
sist that  I  do  something  for  you  to  show  my  appre- 
ciation. But  now  I  feel  that  it  is  high  time  that  I  be 
resuming  my  trip,  much  as  I  regret  to  leave  your  hos- 
pitable roof.  I  think  to-morrow  I  must  leave  for  New 
York." 

"You  certainly  must  not  think  of  such  a  thing,"  de- 
clared all  four  in  protest,  and  then  began  a  long, 
wordy  argument  as  to  why  it  would  be  unwise  for 
their  guest  to  travel  so  soon  after  his  illness. 

Despite  all  persuasions,  Harrington  felt  that  he 
must  be  once  more  on  the  road,  for  he  was  fully  con- 
vinced that  he  now  possessed  sufficient  strength  for 


108  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

the  trip.  Accordingly,  with  great  reluctance,  the 
Harters  consented  to  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  Harrington's    departure  on  the  following 

day. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Early  the  next  morning  Harrington  once  more  was 
conveyed  over  the  road  he  had  been  brought  by  auto 
on  the  night  of  the  wreck  to  Havre  de  Grace,  where 
he  took  the  aero  for  New  York.  The  Harters,  all 
four,  made  the  trip  to  the  city  in  order  to  see  their 
guest  off.  The  leave-taking  was  as  affectionate  as  if 
Harrington  had  been  related  by  ties  of  blood  to  his 
hosts. 

Up  to  the  very  last,  neither  Mr.  nor  Mrs.  Harter 
would  accept  a  cent  of  pay  for  what  they  had  done. 
So  it  was  that  as  the  aero  approached,  and  the  final 
good-byes  were  said,  Harrington  forced  into  the 
hands  of  both  Tom  and  his  sister  an  envelope  which 
later  proved  to  be  a  very  substantial  cash  remem- 
brance. 

Despite  his  late  experience,  Harrington  boldly  ven- 
tured by  aero  rather  than  by  train.  He  was  by  no 
means  superstitious.  Also  by  nature  he  was  deeply 
religious  and  rested  convinced  that  all  humanity  is  in 
the  hands  of,  and  is  ruled  by,  a  divine  Providence 
over  which  mortals  have  no  control. 

After  an  uneventful  trip,  Harrington  arrived  once 
more  in  New  York.     He  was  consumed  with  desire  to 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  109 

proceed  with  all  speed  to  Vermont,  and  accordingly  at 
once  upon  his  arrival  in  the  metropolis,  he  consulted 
the  timetables  of  the  northbound  New  England  aeros 
and  discovered  that  he  had  barely  time  to  make  con- 
nection with  one  stopping  at  St.  Albans. 

Hurriedly  purchasing  a  ticket  without  leaving  the 
union  terminal,  Harrington,  with  a  thrill  of  pleasur- 
able expectancy,  boarded  an  aero  which  was  to  take 
him  in  a  few  hours  to  the  place  of  all  places  dear  to 
his  heart,  the  scene  of  his  early  childhood,  and  for 
which  to  see  once  more  he  had  crossed  the  sea. 

^  Soon  he  was  under  way  once  more.  His  timetable 
disclosed  the  route  to  be  by  way  of  Albany,  N.  Y., 
then  across  the  Vermont  line  and  north  to  Burling- 
ton. From  Burlington  it  was  but  a  brief  flight  to 
St.  Albans,  the  end  of  the  route. 

Harrington  purchased  a  morning  newspaper  in 
New  York,  but  he  cared  little  to  read.  He  far  pre- 
ferred to  dream  dreams  of  his  childhood.  Would  the 
old  red  school  house  be  there?  Had  the  old  swim- 
min'  hole  been  altered? 

^  He  thought  of  lover's  lane,  where  oft  on  a  moon- 
light night  his  fair  one  and  he  had  gone  for  strolls. 
So  absorbed  in  his  own  thoughts  was  he  that  he  paid 
little  attention  to  the  scenery  as  he  sped  up  the  mag- 
nificent Hudson. 

In  three  hours'  time,  Albany  was  reached,  the  first 
stop  on  the  route.  Then  the  aero  soon  passed  in  a 
northeast  direction  and  approached  the  Green  Moun- 
tain state.  With  a  thrill  of  joy,  Harrington  realized 
that  he  was  again  in  Vermont. 


no  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"Fine  day  for  travelling,"  volunteered  the  man  who 
had  just  taken  a  seat  beside  Harrington. 

"Yes,  it  is  very  fine.  I  have  come  up  from  New- 
York  like  one  in  a  dream.  The  miles  have  just  van- 
ished into  thin  ether  in  actual  fact." 

"How  far  do  you  go,  to  Burlington  or  on  to  St. 
Albans?"  was  the  query. 

"I  go  to  St.  Albans,  and  I  shall  be  only  too  glad  to 
reach  there.  I  have  travelled  across  the  Pacific  to 
get  there,  and  I  haven't  been  there  in  fifty  years." 

"Well,  well,  you  certainly  have  come  far  enough. 
Where  did  you  come  from  ?" 

"I  have  come  all  the  wray  from  Melbourne,  Aus- 
tralia, to  once  more  revisit  my  boyhood  home." 

"You  will  certainly  note  changes.  I  have  noted 
many  in  the  last  ten  years,  but  fifty  years  is  a  mighty 
big  expanse  of  time." 

"That  is  one  thing  that  fills  me  with  a  mixture  of 
pleasure  and  pain.  Pleasure  to  return,  but  possible 
pain  to  return  and  find  old  scenes  and  old  faces  so 
changed  or  gone  forever." 

"Can  you  tell  me,"  asked  Harrington,  "is  there  any 
one  of  your  acquaintance  by  the  name  of  Haggerson, 
Miss  Jemima  Haggerson,  living  in  St.  Albans  at  the 
present  time?" 

"Why,  there  is  a  woman  of  that  name  living  several 
blocks  from  my  house.  She  is  quite  an  elderly  lady 
and  lives  all  alone  with  her  niece,  Miss  Eleona  Sears. 
I  think  it  quite  likely  this  is  the  Miss  Haggerson  to 
whom  you  refer." 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  Iir 

"What  was  her  father's  name?"  asked  Harrington 
earnestly.  &«•«" 

"I  cannot  say  positively,  but  I  think  I  have  heard 
my  mother  say  it  was  David,"  was  the  reply 

"That  convinces  me  that  the  person  you  mention  is 
none  other  than  the  woman  of  my  acquaintance,"  re- 
phed  Harrington.     "But  may  I  be  so  bold  as  to  ask 
your  name?     Mine  is  Harrington." 
"I  am  Frank  Curtiss." 

IW?  ,CUrtuS!     Why'   l  WCnt  t0  Sch0Ql  with  a 
*rank  Curtiss  who  grew  up  and  became  a  physician  " 

That  was  my  father.     I  am  named  for  him.     He 

has  been  dead  some  years,"  was  the  response. 

Well   well,  can  it  be  that  you  are  Frank  Curtiss' 

th.vJ       7  r1!"  father  WdK     We  both  attended 
the  little  red  school  house." 

ishedhG  A  'w   "^  SCh°01    h°USe  has  lon*  since  van- 
ished.     A  big  aero    manufactory  now  stands  on  the 

"I  did  not  expect  to  find  much  that  is  familiar,"  re- 
marked Harrington  half  sadly. 

"Come,  now  we  are  approaching  St.  Albans     Have 
you  any  special  place  to  stay?" 

"What  I  seek  is  a  good  hotel.     Can  you  direct  me 
to  one  ?"  asked  Harrington. 

"The  best  place  is  'Aerial  Inn.'  over  on  Main  Street 
no  far  from  the  aero  terminal.  A  'mono'  or  auto 
will  quickly  convey  you  there.  Were  it  not  that  all 
my  family  are  away,  I  should  insist  that  you  go  home 
with  me  You  will,  however,  find  the  hotel"  I  men- 
tioned all  right  in  every  respect." 


U2  UTOPIA   'ACHIEVED 

Just  then  St.  Albans  was  called  out,  and  the  two 
rose  to  leave. 

"I  shall  hope  to  see  you  again,"  declared  Curtiss  in 
parting. 

Harrington  thanked  his  new-found  friend,  and  the 
two  shook  hands  and  parted. 

A  quick  shoot  down  the  elevator  brought  Harring- 
ton out  upon  the  street.  Soon  he  was  seated  in  a 
taxi,  which  conveyed  him  speedily  to  the  hotel  to 
which  he  had  been  directed.  It  was  none  too  soon 
to  please  the  traveller,  as  the  long  journey  had  cre- 
ated a  hearty  appetite. 

Quickly  ordering  a  suite  of  rooms,  he  retired 
thither  where,  in  the  most  approved  style  of  hostel- 
ries  of  the  middle  of  the  twentieth  century,  he  ordered 
his  meal  through  the  menuophone  and  soon  was  en- 
abled to  partake  of  a  simple  but  substantial  meal. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

His  meal  over,  Harrington  indulged  in  a  short  nap, 
for  the  ride  had  been  a  tax  upon  his  now  weakened 
strength.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  thoroughly  rested, 
he  eagerly  sallied  forth  to  see  once  more  the  town  of 
his  boyhood. 

The  same,  and  yet  so  changed,  was  his  mental 
comment.  Never  had  the  town  he  had  known  as  a 
village  of  5,000  people  looked  so  well  built  and  pros- 
perous.    Fifty  thousand,  he  was  told  upon  inquiry  at 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  113 

the  hotel,  was  the  present  population.  The  growth 
of  the  place  had  suddenly  made  a  remarkably  good 
gain,  as  it  had  the  past  few  years  become  noted  as  a 
factory  town,  a  number  of  the  larger  aero  concerns 
having  located  plants  here.  In  fact,  it  was  generally 
known  as  the  "aero  city." 

One  or  two  places  along  the  Main  street  had  a 
familiar  look,  although  many  alterations  had  been 
made  in  the  half  century;  but  for  the  most  part,  the 
seven,  eight,  ten  and  twelve-story  store  buildings 
were  new. 

With  the  eagerness  of  a  boy,  Harrington  sought  out 
the  old  site,  long  since  passed  out  of  his  hands,  of  the 
house  in  which  he  had  been  born  and  where  he  had 
spent  his  early  life.  The  location  he  found  had  be- 
come a  central  one,  and  now  there  stood  a  fine  city 
library,  every  trace  of  familiar  scenes  having  been  ob- 
literated. Only  was  he  able  to  find  it  by  noticing  the 
names  of  the  streets  at  the  corner  where  it  had  been 
located. 

Through  the  heart  of  the  city,  "monos"  fleetly  con- 
veyed their  passengers,  as  in  New  York  and  the  other 
American  cities  he  had  visited.  Nowhere  were  trol- 
leys to  be  seen. 

With  a  half  sad  heart,  Harrington  cut  short  his 
walk  and  retraced  his  steps  to  the  hotel.  He  desired 
to  plan  as  to  what  was  the  best  course  to  pursue  in 
regard  to  making  himself  known  to  the  sweetheart  of 
other  days.  Would  she  be  the  same  sweet,  gentle  girl 
he  had  known?  How  would  she  regard  his  return 
after    the    long    interim?     These     and    many   other 


H4  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

thoughts  flashed  through  Harrington's  brain  as  he 
directed  his  steps  toward  his  hotel. 

Yes,  he  would,  as  of  yore,  go  to  her  house.  He 
must  see  her,  and  before  another  day.  He  half  smiled 
at  his  own  impetuosity,  such  as  is  more  often  attribu- 
ted to  youth  rather  than  to  the  fullness  of  mature  age. 

By  this  time  he  was  at  the  hotel.  A  few  minutes 
later  he  was  in  his  room,  attiring  himself  with  the 
greatest  of  care.  In  his  youth  he  had  been  conspicu- 
ous among  the  young  men  of  his  home  town  for  his 
faultless  attire.  To-night  he  took  more  than  ordinary 
care.  He  even  felt  a  quickened  pulse  beat  as  he  ar- 
ranged his  faultless  toilet. 

All  was  now  ready  but  the  shine.  This  he  obtained 
easily  and  quickly  by  employing  the  automatic  shoe 
shiner  in  his  hotel  room.  Then,  with  another  primp 
in  the  glass,  he  sallied  forth. 

A  consultation  of  the  St.  Albans  directory  disclosed 
the  street  and  number  of  Miss  Jemima.  It  was  not 
the  same  address  as  the  one  to  which  he  had  been 
wont  to  call  years  before,  but  he  recalled  the  name  of 
the  street  and  its  location,  as  it  happened  to  be  one 
of  the  older  residential  thoroughfares  of  the  city. 

Thither  he  walked  with  quickened  step.  He  no 
longer  noted  the  changes  in  the  town.  He  saw  but 
one  thing — the  picture  of  a  beautiful  young  girl  with 
blue  eyes  and  dark  chestnut  hair  as  she  had  appeared 
to  say  adieu  to  him  many  year's  ago.  That  morning 
and  that  vision  had  never  been  effaced  from  his  mem- 
ory.    It  was  that  tearful,  longing  face  that  had  so 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  115 

haunted  him  all  these  years  that  he  felt  impelled  even 
at  this  late  date  to  return  and  make  amends. 

Gladly  he  watched  the  numbers  run  up.  He  was 
now  on  the  very  street  he  sought.  What  a  thrill  it 
gave  him  !  A  minute  more  and  he  would  see  that  face 
again ! 

Yes,  here  was  the  number,  "169,"  which  proved  to 
be  a  well-kept,  two-story  brick,  surrounded  by  a  trim, 
old-fashioned  lawn  and  shrubbery  such  as  years  be- 
fore had  been  called  good  landscape  effects. 

He  went  up  the  steps  and  rang  the  bell.  A  pretty, 
winsome,  girlish  figure  appeared  in  response.  Har- 
rington felt  a  sudden  thrill  of  surprise  and  joy  as  he 
beheld  what  was  a  very  striking  likeness  of  his  sweet- 
heart of  long  ago. 

"Does  Miss  Jemima  Haggerson  live  here?"  he 
asked  with  bated  breath. 

"She  does.  Would  you  like  to  see  her?"  came  the 
prompt  response  in  a  sweet,  well-modulated  voice. 

Then  turning,  she  opened  the  door  wide  and  led  the 
way  into  a  well-kept  but  old-fashioned  sitting  room. 

"Auntie,  Auntie,"  Harrington  heard  her  call  up  the 
stairs,  "there  is  a  gentleman  wants  to  see  you." 

With  a  mingled  feeling  of  pleasure  and  foreboding, 
such  as  most  likely  Enoch  Arden  experienced  upon 
his  return,  took  possession  of  Harrington.  Would 
she  be  glad  to  see  him,  or  would  she  not? 

Soon  his  reverie  was  cut  short  as  he  heard  the  rus- 
tle of  a  silk  dress  on  the  stairway.  A  second  later 
a  tall,   erect,  gray-haired  woman   stood  before   him. 


n6  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

How  greatly  changed  she  was !  Yet  a  closer  scrutiny 
revealed  traces  of  the  olden  beauty  which  time  had 
not  succeeded  in  effacing.  For  a  moment  Harring- 
ton regarded  her  as  one  in  a  trance.  He  could  not 
find  his  tongue  to  speak.  The  old  affection  returned 
in  a  flood  and  all  his  natural  instinct  prompted  him  to 
rush  up  to  her  with  the  old-time  affectionate  greeting, 
yet  something  held  him  back.  Presently  he  found  his 
voice. 

"You  are  Miss  Jemima  Haggerson?"  he  asked. 

"That  is  my  name,"  was  the  reply  in  short,  terse 
manner,  yet  by  no  means  unkindly. 

"I  presume  you  do  not  know  me.  Look  closely. 
Do  I  resemble  any  one  you  ever  saw  before?"  asked 
Harrington  eagerly. 

Closely  the  woman  before  him  scrutinized  his  every 
feature. 

"It  is  a  little  dark  and  I  cannot  see  well  without  my 
spectacles,"  she  observed.  Then  she  took  out  of  a 
case  on  the  mantelpiece  a  pair  of  glasses,  rubbed 
them  painstakingly  and  renewed  the  scrutiny. 

"No,  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  identify  you,"  she  re- 
marked. Then  her  eyes  brightened.  "You  are  not 
cousin  Sam  from  San  Francisco?"  she  questioned. 

Harrington  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  deny  the 
identity. 

"Well,  I  must  confess  that  I  do  not  recognize  you, 
although  a  closer  scrutiny  tells  me  there  is  something 
familiar,  but  I  cannot  place  you." 

"Did  you  ever  know  of  a  person  by  the  name  of 
Harrington — Tom     Harrington — a    good-for-nothing 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  117 

who  went  to  Australia  in  early  youth  to  seek  his  for- 
tune?" 

A  cry  of  almost  fear  escaped  the  lips  of  the  aged 
woman.  "Tom  Harrington,  Tom  Harrington,  can  it 
be  that  you  have  walked  forth  from  the  grave?"  She 
fell  forward  as  if  about  to  swoon.  Then  quickly  and 
surprisingly  she  regained  her  composure  to  a  consid- 
erable degree. 

"Surely  you  are  not  Tom  Harrington!  But  yes,  I 
can  now  see  the  likeness.  You  are  surely  he.  But 
how — how  did  you  ever  get  back  here?" 

"Just  as  all  other  people  come  these  days.  I  took 
an  aero  from  New  York  this  morning  and  here  I 
stand  before  you  in  St.  Albans." 

"Wh|*  I  heard  you  were  dead.  I  received  but  two 
or  three  letters  from  you,  then  there  was  a  long,  mys- 
terious silence.  Later  it  was  explained  when  indi- 
rectly, but  accurately,  I  thought,  I  learned  of  your 
death  in  far-away  x-\ustralia.  Never  did  I  expect  to 
see  you  again  in  the  flesh  like  this." 

"I,  too,  waited  long  and  earnestly  for  letters  that 
never  came.  Then  I,  too,  heard  indirectly  conflict- 
ing stories.  One  said  you  had  wed  another.  The 
other  was  to  the  effect  that  you  were  dead.  I  much 
preferred  to  believe  the  latter,  but  lately  I  was  con- 
vinced that  you  still  lived  and  I  decided  to  take  a  little 
trip  and  see  for  myself." 

"You  do  not  mean  to  say  that  you  have  come  all 
the  way  from  Australia  to  look  me  up  at  this  late 
day!"  exclaimed  Miss  Jemima  with  much  surprise. 

"Certainly.     Besides,   I   have    now    made    all   the 


n8  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

money  I  want  or  shall  ever  require,  and  I  am  deter- 
mined to  have  a  little  play  spell  before  I  go  to  my  long 
rest.  I  have  been  these  many  years  anxious  to  see 
old  St.  Albans  again.     So  here  I  am." 

"Well,  well,  you  certainly  have  had  a  long  trip.  I 
fear  you  will  find  things  so  changed  here  that  the  re- 
turn will  have  in  store  little  of  interest  or  consolation 
for  you.  We  are  living  in  a  new  age.  The  things, 
the  people,  all  that  we  held  dear  years  ago  have  gone 
for  the  .most  part.  Dear  old  St.  Albans,  now  more 
prosperous  industrially  than  she  ever  hoped  or 
dreamed  to  be  in  the  old  days,  is  to  me  pitifully 
changed." 

"Yes,  the  little  I  have  seen  has  shown  me  the  evi- 
dences of  progress.  I  have  thus  far  found  little  that 
savors  of  old  times." 

"Your  old  home  is  now  torn  down  and  the  lot  is 
used  for  the  new  library  building." 

"Yes,  I  observed  the  change  with  much  sadness.  I 
had  hoped  that  if  the  old  house  still  stood,  I  would  be 
able  to  buy  it  back  again  and  restore  it  as  far  as  pos- 
sible to  its  former  condition,  both  within  and  without. 
Now  that  is  rendered  an  impossibility." 

"But  now  I  must  be  going,"  declared  Harrington. 
"I  only  dropped  in  for  a  short  call.  I  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  be  slightly  injured  in  an  aero  wreck  sev- 
eral weeks  ago,  and  as  yet  I  have  to  retire  early  and 
husband  my  strength.  It  is  now  past  my  hour  of  re- 
tiring." 

"Before  you  go,  I  must  have  you  meet  my  niece, 
Miss  Sears.     She  is  my  sister  Anna's  daughter  and 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  119 

an  orphan.  She  and  I  live  all  alone  here.  If  it  were 
not  for  her,  I  do  not  know  what  I  should  do  for  com- 
pany." 

"Eleona,"  she  called  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  "come 
here.  I  want  you  to  meet  Mr.  Harrington,  an  old 
boy  friend  of  mine." 

In  a  twinkling  the  girl  half  waltzed  animatedly  into 
the  room. 

"I  most  surely  am  pleased  to  meet  any  of  Auntie's 
friends,"  she  said  pleasantly. 

"You  will  certainly  call  again,"  declared  Miss  Je- 
mima as  her  caller  started  to  leave. 

"I  will  do  so  if  you  desire,"  was  the  reply.  Then 
the  door  closed  and  Harrington  slowly  and  thought- 
fully proceeded  down  the  street  toward  his  hotel.  He 
had  seen  his  old  sweetheart  for  the  first  time  in  half 
a  century.     Was  not  that  enough  food  for  reflection? 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Harrington,  upon  reaching  his  hotel,  did  not  at  once 
retire  as  he  had  intended.  He  was  still  deep  in 
thought  and  in  no  way  prepared  to  compose  himself 
for  sleep.  Eagerly  he  revolved  in  his  mind  every  in- 
cident of  the  call  just  made.  How  the  years  had  aged 
one  who  was  once  as  young  and  as  fair  as  her  niece, 
Eleona!  Yet  the  aged  woman  called  forth  all  the 
depth  of  affection  that  he  had  felt  for  the  young 
woman. 

Would  she  accept    him    now  or  would  she  reject 


120  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

him?  Certainly  there  must  still  smoulder  some  of 
the  old  passion  in  her  breast  for  the  sweetheart  of  her 
youth. 

He  pondered  over  her  every  word,  her  every  ges- 
ture when  he  made  himself  known.  Should  he  offer 
himself  to  her  again,  the  mere  shadow  of  his  former 
self,  or  should  he  restrain  his  affection,  which,  after 
all,  perhaps,  was  the  foolishness  of  senility? 

At  last,  after  much  thought,  he  resolved  to  en- 
deavor to  practice  self-restraint.  He  would  not  has- 
ten to  throw  himself  again  at  her  feet  precipitately. 
He  would  do  nothing  rash,  and  thus  avoid  making  a 
fool  of  himself. 

The  next  morning  Harrington  was  up,  as  is  the 
custom  of  elderly  persons,  at  a  very  early  hour.  With 
much  care,  he  took  pains  to  obtain  a  shave,  employ- 
ing the  automatic  shaver  in  his  room  similar  to  the 
one  he  had  used  in  the  New  York  hotel.  Then  a 
nickel  dropped  into  a  slot  obtained  for  him  a  speedy 
shoe  shine. 

Once  more  he  was  out  upon  the  streets  of  the  city. 
It  was  a  delightful  time  for  a  walk,  for  the  populace 
was  as  yet  barely  awake  and  bestirring  itself. 

Out  through  the  factory  section  he  proceeded.  The 
number  and  magnitude  of  the  factories  surpassed  any- 
thing he  had  ever  dreamed  of  for  his  native  city.  A 
very  large  number  were  aero  factories.  Whole  sec- 
tions of  the  city,  in  easy  walking  distance  from  the 
various  factories,  were  developed  into  what  at  first 
glance  bore  unmistakable  evidence  of  being  model 
tenements  built  almost  exclusively  of  cement.     So  at- 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  121 

tractive  were  they  that  they  fascinated  Harrington. 
Here,  as  in  New  York,  apparently,  a  struggle  had 
been  made  to  solve  the  problem  of  housing  the  work- 
ing classes  adequately  and  well.  A  vision  of  the  fac- 
tory section  disclosed  to  Harrington  readily  where 
lived  the  majority  of  the  recently  added  population  of 
St.  Albans. 

By  this  time  workmen  were  coming  to  begin  their 
day's  labor.  Over  at  his  right,  Harrington  saw  a 
great  block  of  buildings,  apparently  model  houses  for 
the  working  men,  in  the  process  of  erection.  The 
construction  was  of  apparently  poured  cement,  such  as 
he  had  heard  of  in  New  York,  and  of  an  exceedingly 
attractive  design,  even  more  so  than  was  that  of  some 
of  the  other  model  houses  he  had  seen  on  his  walk. 

Harrington  possessed  a  full  degree  of  Yankee  curi- 
osity and  he  was  much  interested  in  this,  to  him,  new 
construction.  He  walked  over  to  where  the  work  was 
in  progress  and  addressed  a  man  apparently  the  fore- 
man. 

"Doing  some  building  of  tenements?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  we  have  fifty  we  are  pouring  here,"  was  the 
reply. 

"I  am  from  out  of  the  country  and  this  work  is  new 
to  me.  Would  you  mind  showing  me  how  the  work 
is  done?" 

"Surely  not.  It  is  very  simple.  The  houses  are 
constructed  around  a  hollow  square  which  is  used  for 
a  grass  plot,  flower  beds,  and  also  has  a  pool  of  water 
in  the  center. 

''While  building  this  group  of  houses,  we  employ  a 


122  V  TOP  I A    ACHIEVED 

temporary  miniature  railroad  laid  around  the  whole 
structure.  On  flat  cars  on  this  little  road,  as  you  can 
see,  we  carry  cinders,  sand  and  the  necessary  cement. 
As  each  house  in  the  block  is  poured,  the  train  carries 
there  for  use  the  necessary  cement  and  materials  for 
building.  Then  as  required  it  moves  on  to  the  next 
little  house." 

"But  how  are  you  able  to  pour  cement?  That  is 
where  I  am  most  perplexed,"  asked  Harrington. 

"That  is  made  easy  through  a  system  of  interlocking 
metal  plates  like  these."  The  foreman  pointed  to  two 
tiers  fastened  together  on  the  side  of  a  house  now  un- 
der construction. 

"Hinged  rods,  as  you  can  see,  enable  the  lower  set 
of  plates  to  be  swung  up  and  form  a  new  tier  when 
their  work  of  forming  the  mould  has  been  completed 
in  the  lower  tier. 

"This  is  one  of  the  chief  secrets  of  the  success  of 
this  construction.  It  eliminates  false  form  work  here- 
tofore the  most  costly  item  of  reinforced  concrete 
construction." 

"But  while  the  sides  can  perhaps  be  thus  poured, 
how  do  you  construct  the  roofs  and  floors?"  asked 
Harrington  interestedly. 

"That  is  very  easy.  The  same  moulds  are  laid  hor- 
izontally." 

"Well,  all  this  is  interesting.  How  long  does  it 
take  to  erect  a  house  of  this  kind,  and  how  about  the 
cost?"  was  Harrington's  query. 

"These  little  houses,  consisting  of  six  rooms  each, 
having  a  living  room,  dining  room,  pantry,  summer 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  123 

kitchen  and  porch  on  the  first  floor,  and  three  indoor 
and  two  outdoor  sleeping  rooms  in  the  second  story, 
will  cost  about  $500  each.  Of  course  this  does  not 
include  the  cost  of  the  land.  A  single  one  of  these 
houses  should  be  poured  and  ready  for  occupancy  in 
a  week  or  ten  days'  time,"  was  the  answer. 

"Of  course  the  houses  of  this  style  find  ready  sale, 
I  should  assume,"  was  Harrington's  comment. 

"They  most  certainly  do.  They  are  so  sanitary  and 
so  attractive  and  withal  so  cheap,  they  are  ever  in  de- 
mand as  fast  as  built.  They  make  as  big  a  hit  with 
the  women  as  with  the  men,  for  the  reason  that  house- 
cleaning  is  reduced  to  a  minimum  of  labor.  There 
is  no  sweeping.  Cleaning  is  accomplished  by  simply 
removing  the  furniture  from  a  room  and  turning  on 
the  hose  onto  the  cement  floor,  which  slants  off  to- 
ward a  low  corner  where  is  a  pipe  connecting  with 
the  sewer  carrying  off  the  water." 

"Well,  certainly  this  is  a  wonderful  way  of  building 
houses.  I  am  from  Australia,  and  there  they  have 
never  employed  this  construction,"  replied  Harring- 
ton. "I  am  certainly  very  greatly  obliged  to  you  for 
your  pains  in  showing  me  around." 

"You  are  entirely  welcome.  It  is  a  pleasure  to 
show  our  wrork  to  a  man  who  appreciates,"  was  the 
response. 

Wondering  what  they  would  say  in  Australia  were 
he  to  go  back  and  report  that  in  America  they  built 
houses  of  reinforced  concrete  construction  in  a  week's 
time  ready  for  occupancy,  Harrington  started  back 
toward  the  city. 


124  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

As  he  proceeded  along  the  main  street,  a  sign  at  a 
corner  over  a  drug  store  attracted  his  attention.  It 
read,  "J.  T.  Pettibone,  Pharmacist."  The  sign  re- 
called to  his  memory  that  he  had  long  years  ago  gone 
swimming  in  the  old  swimmin'  hole,  much  to  his  fond 
mother's  horror,  with  a  Frank  Pettibone.  Certainly 
this  was  not  the  same  one.  Yet  might  he  not  know 
of  his  old  chum's  whereabouts? 

Again  playing  the  Yankee,  Harrington  boldly  en- 
tered the  store  and  asked  for  the  proprietor.  A  clerk 
directed  him  to  a  middle-aged  man  who  sat  writing  at 
a  desk  at  the  rear.     Thither  Harrington  walked. 

"Are  you  Mr.  Pettibone?"  he  asked. 

"That  is  my  name,"  was  the  quick  response. 

"I  am  Mr.  Harrington.  Of  course  you  do  not  re- 
member me,  but  years  ago  as  a  boy  here  I  used  to  go 
swimming  with  a  Frank  Pettibone.  When  to-day  I 
passed  your  store  and  saw  your  sign,  I  wondered  if 
you  could  be  any  relation  to  the  Pettibone  I  once 
played  with." 

"Why,  he  is  my  father.  He  is  now  making  his  home 
with  us  since  my  mother  died.  I  am  sure  he  would 
be  delighted  to  see  you."  Thereupon  he  wrote  on  a 
letterhead  the  street  and  number  where  his  father 
could  be  found. 

"I  think  I  have  heard  my  father  speak  of  you,"  de- 
clared the  druggist,  "and  I  am  always  glad  to  have 
father  meet  old  friends.  He  now  goes  but  little,  and 
his  chief  delight  is  talking  over  old  times  with  some 
crony." 

Thanking  him    heartily  for  the  invitation  to  call, 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  125 

Harrington  set  out  for  his  hotel,  for  by  this  time  he 
had  developed  a  good,  healthy  appetite  through  his 
long  walk  on  an  empty  stomach. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

That  afternoon,  Harrington  sought  out  the  home  of 
Mr.  Pettibone.  Already  the  druggist  had,  when  he 
returned  for  the  noon  meal,  informed  his  elderly  fa- 
ther of  the  proposed  call  of  Harrington,  and  the  par- 
ent was  accordingly  expectant  when  the  caller  really 
approached. 

With  the  greatest  of  alacrity,  Pettibone,  a  short, 
white-whiskered  man,  rushed  out  the  front  door  when 
he  saw  Harrington  appear. 

"Well,  well,  old  chap,  a  little  late  in  the  season  to 
go  swimming,  but  I  reckon  we  can  take  a  dip  some- 
where !"  he  cried  out  jovially. 

"Hello,  Frank,  it  does  my  heart  good  to  see  you 
again.  I  did  not  know  that  you  would  be  still  on  this 
earth,"  declared  his  old  chum. 

"I'm  not  just  the  same  old  freckled-face,  dare-devil 
chap  I  was  in  those  days  when  we  both  attended  the 
red  school  house  (when  we  weren't  playing  hookey), 
but,  thank  God,  I  am  still  alive  and  in  fairly  good 
health  for  a  man  of  seventy.  But  you  look  well  pre- 
served. Tell  me  all  about  your  experiences.  Where 
have  you  been— to  New  Zealand,  wasn't  it?" 

"No,  I  went  to  Australia.  Have  been  there  fifty 
years  this  summer." 


126  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"Well,  well,  how  did  the  world  out  there  use  you? 
I  suppose  you  have  a  wife,  and  the  Lord  knows  how 
many  children  and  grandchildren  by  this  time." 

"No,  I  plead  guilty  to  confirmed  bachelorhood.  In 
all  these  years  I  have  failed  to  marry  and  establish  a 
home." 

"Let's  see  now,  you  used  to  be  mighty  thick  with 
Jemima  Haggerson.  She  is  still  among  the  eligibles 
of  St.  Albans,"  Pettibone  declared  with  a  grin. 

"Yes,  I  confess  to  you,  Frank,  time  was  when  I  ex- 
pected to  claim  Jemima  as  wife,  and  a  more  worthy 
one  I  doubt  would  have  ever  existed.  I  went  to  Aus- 
tralia on  her  account  more  than  on  my  own.  It  was 
to  get  enough  cash  to  set  up  an  establishment  worthy 
of  such  a  woman  that  I  went  so  far  away.  Then  fate 
seemed  to  connive  to  part  us.  I  understood  she  had 
wed  another;  she  understood  I  had  died  in  a  strange 
land.  Only  lately  did  I  learn  that  she  was  still  alive," 
declared  Harrington  earnestly. 

"Then  you  crossed  the  sea  to  return  to  St.  Albans 
just  to  renew  your  old  romance?"  asked  Pettibone 
curiously. 

Harrington  looked  slightly  confused.  "Not  quite 
so  bad  as  that,"  he  answered.  "I  have  always  wished 
to  see  my  old  town  again  before  I  died.  Now  I  have 
made  enough  money  in  Australia  to  supply  every  rea- 
sonable need,  so  I  have  closed  up  my  affairs  as  far  as 
possible  in  Australia,  and  here  I  am." 

"It  sure  does  my  heart  good  to  see  you.  There  are 
few  of  us  chaps  left  now.  You  know  Tim  Green  and 
John  Peck?     Both  of  them  have  died  within  a  year." 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  127 

Then  the  two  enjoyed  a  heart-to-heart  talk  of  the 
good  times  they  had  had  in  their  boyhood,  and  dis- 
cussed the  career  of  this  one  and  that  one  that  they 
had  known  intimately. 

"St.  Albans  is  not  such  a  town  now,"  declared  Pet- 
tibone.  "The  younger  generation  don't  have  such  a 
boyhood  as  we  had.  They  think  they  are  having  a 
good  time,  but  they  can  never  know  the  times  we 
had,''  he  declared  fondly.  "But  it  is  all  over  now,"  he 
added  sadly. 

"You  know  Sally  Henderson?  Well,  she  became 
my  wife,  and  a  brave,  true  little  woman  she  ever  was. 
Only  a  short  time  since  she  passed  on."  Tears 
coursed  down  his  cheek,  and  he  made  little  attempt  to 
hide  them. 

"I  have  a  family  I  am  rather  proud  of,  though," 
remarked  Pettibone.  "One  of  my  sons  is  the  drug- 
gist you  met,  while  another  is  the  present  mayor  of 
St.  Albans.  I  also  have  a  daughter  who  is  married 
well  and  lives  in  Boston." 

"I  am  indeed  glad  to  hear  that  you  have  such  a  fine 
family.  I  should  hardly  expect  it,  though,  for  my 
old  mother  always  predicted  that  you  would  come  to 
no  good  end  and  that  the  gallows  was  your  most  prob- 
able fate,"  declared  Harrington  with  a  twinkle  in  his 
eye.  "I  shall  be  pleased  to  meet  your  son.  His  Honor 
the  mayor,  of  this  my  native  town,"  remarked  Har- 
rington. 

"So  you  shall.  You  shall  remain  to  lunch,  when 
he  will  be  here  to-day  and  you  can  meet  him." 

"I  thank  you  most  heartily,  old  man,  but  I  do  not 


128  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

think  I  should  impose  upon  you.  I  am  only  a  little 
ways  from  my  hotel  and  can  easily  return  there  to 
eat." 

"Tut,  tut,  I  guess  after  fifty  years  I  can  have  the 
pleasure  of  entertaining  my  old  pal,  without  any  pro- 
test on  his  part." 

"Well,  if  you  insist,  I  will  stay,  and  I  thank  you 
most  heartily,  but  I  would  not  have  it  look  as  if  I 
came  here  to  get  a  meal  off  from  you  for  the  sake  of 
old  times." 

"Say  no  more.     Stay  you  do,"  was  the  reply. 

From  then  until  the  meal  was  announced  the  two 
cronies  lived  over  again  their  boyhood,  each  telling 
and  retelling  of  incidents  that  had  never  been  effaced 
from  their  minds  in  all  the  changing  scenes  of  life. 

At  the  lunch  table,  Harrington  was  introduced  to 
Pettibone's  son  Fred.  "Mayor  Fred,"  Harrington 
termed  him  half  playfully.  He  proved  to  be  a  middle- 
aged  man  with  closely  cropped  side  whiskers  and  in 
general  appearance  bearing  a  strong  resemblance  to 
his  father. 

"So  you  are  from  Australia.  Well,  that  is  one 
country  that  I  have  always  wished  to  visit "  declared 
the  mayor. 

"It  is  a  good  country  to  visit,  and  the  opportunities 
for  a  poor  man  are  fairly  good,  but  for  all  that,  I  am 
right  glad  to  be  back  in  the  old  U.  S.  A.  There's  no 
place  like  it,  after  ail,"  asserted  Harrington. 

"Yes,  the  United  States  is  a  pretty  good  country  to 
tie  up  to,"  declared  the  mayor.     "But  what  do  you 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  129 

think  of  our  city?  Was  it  like  this  in  the  olden 
days  ?" 

"St.  Albans  has  grown  in  population  greatly,  and  is 
a  far  better,  more  substantially  built  town,  but  I  can 
not  but  half  regretfully  wish  I  could  see  it  as  it  used 
to  be." 

"That  is  all  very  natural.  I  cannot  blame  you  for 
so  thinking,"  was  the  response. 

By  this  time  they  were  preparing  to  partake  of  the 
meal  which  was  a  strictly  vegetarian  one,  and  one  in 
which  nuts  and  fruit  predominated. 

"In  one  regard,  I  notice  a  great  change,"  declared 
Harrington,  "and  that  is  in  the  matter  of  the  Amer- 
ican appetite.  Everywhere  I  go  I  see  but  little  meat 
used.  In  my  day,  back  here,  meat  was  a  staple  article 
without  which  people,  especially  the  class  doing  hard 
physical  labor,  thought  they  could  not  well  subsist." 

"A  very  erroneous  notion.  The  national  health  de- 
partment has  thoroughly  convinced  the  majority  of 
thinking  people  that  a  more  simple,  less  expensive  bill 
of  fare  is  best  suited  to  the  average  person.  It  has 
incidentally  wrought  a  very  great  economic  change. 
Under  our  way  of  living  now,  the  grocery  bill  of  the 
average  family  of  four  is  cut  down  fully  50  per  cent. 
This  alone  has  made  a  vast  public  saving.  The  pub- 
lic health  has  in  no  way  been  sacrificed,  a  still  better 
thing,  for  in  fact  statistics  show  health  conditions 
better  just  now  than  at  any  other  previous  period  in 
the  country's  history.  When  sickness  does  occur,  the 
various  branches  of   the   federal   health   department, 


i3o  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

one  of  which  you  probably  saw,  is  located  nearly  op- 
posite your  hotel,  are  prepared  to  give  advice  and 
treatment  of  a  wholesome,  common-sense,  and  often 
drugless  nature.  All  this  is  free,  for  the  work  is  sup- 
ported from  the  public  treasury." 

"Yes,  I  have  heard  much  of  the  workings  of  this 
health  bureau,  both  in  New  York,  where  it  seems  to 
be  doing  a  very  excellent  work,  and  also  in  Washing- 
ton, the  headquarters.  But  how  about  this  matter  of 
taxation?  You  have  now  hit  upon  a  matter  that  in- 
terests me  greatly.  I  hear  that  the  single  tax  is  the 
law  of  the  land.  You,  as  mayor,  can  probably  give 
me  a  good  understanding  of  how  the  thing  has  suc- 
ceeded or  failed  in  this  community,"  asked  Harring- 
ton. 

"I  can  tell  you  a  little  of  what  it  has  done,  but  I  can 
not  tell  you  how  it  has  failed,  for  failed  it  has  not," 
asserted  Pettibone  earnestly. 

"Since  the  single  tax  was  made  the  law  of  the  land 
through  an  amendment  to  the  national  constitution, 
St.  Albans,  like  most  other  cities  of  the  country,  has 
enjoyed  remarkable  growth  and  industrial  prosperity. 
The  many  aero  factories  that  line  our  streets  and  the 
model  homes  of  the  men  who  are  therein  employed 
bear  witness  to  this  prosperity." 

"St.  Albans  owns  her  own  water  works  and  obtains 
a  slight  revenue  from  her  street  railroad  system.  Li- 
cense tax  on  business  enterprises  also  produce  some 
returns,  but  aside  from  these,  the  single  tax  provides 
all  the  necessary  money  for  running  the  municipality. 
In  this  city  of  around  50,000  people,  the  aggregate  of 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  131 

taxable  property  (realty)  is  approximately  $40,000,- 
000.  The  tax  rate  the  last  year  was  $2  per  $100  on 
the  value  of  land  taken  irrespective  of  all  buildings 
and  improvements  thereon.  Expert  valuers  were  em- 
ployed and  assisted  the  city  officials  in  their  work. 
We  find  our  revenue  adequate  and  far  easier  of  col- 
lection now  than  under  the  old  tax  system." 

"How  are  you  able  to  determine  the  annual  rental 
value  of  land?''  asked  Harrington. 

"That  is  determined  most  easily  by  the  law  of  sup- 
ply and  demand.  The  new  plan  has  dispensed  with 
a  horde  of  tax  collectors,  has  simplified  government, 
and  in  thus  simplifying,  has  been  enabled  to  save  a 
big  sum  annually  to  the  city.  It  has  relieved  workers 
and  capitalists  of  unjust  taxation  by  restoring  to  the 
public  what  is  by  right  its  own  possession.  Idle  land 
in  St  Albans  has  been  rendered  so  unprofitable  that 
speculators  and  sluggards  have  been  forced  to  build 
and  put  it  to  some  use.  This  is  why  you  see  so  great 
development,  so  many  factories  and  so  many  homes  of 
the  middle  class  erected  and  in  process  of  erection." 

"But  is  not  the  single  tax  rather  unfair?  The  man 
who  owns  land  is  compelled  to  pay  a  tax  thereon, 
while  the  man  who  owns  no  land  does  not  contribute 
to  the  running  expenses  of  the  government  under 
which  he  lives.  Do  I  understand  this  aright?"  asked 
Harrington. 

"All  men  necessarily  make  use  of  land.  They  may 
not  own  it,  but  they  use  it  just  the  same.  When  they 
pay  rent  for  the  roof  over  their  heads,  the  rent  thus 
paid  includes  a  part  that  goes  to  the  public  treasury 


133  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

as  taxes.  No  one  can  escape  the  payment  directly  or 
indirectly  of  taxes,  whether  a  realty  owner  or  not." 

"I  was  down  in  Maryland  recently  and  out  in  the 
country.  By  the  way,  I  found  country  life  far  more 
pleasant  than  I  had  ever  supposed  it  could  be  made. 
The  people  there  seemed  prosperous  and  happy.  They 
seemed  to  have  nearly  all,  if  not  all,  of  the  comforts 
of  the  city.  What  pleased  and  interested  me  specially 
was  Community  Hall,  a  sort  of  social  center  for  the 
farmer  and  all  his  family." 

"Were  you  to  go  out  a  few  miles  from  this  city  you 
would  find  just  such  community  halls  all  throughout 
Vermont  and,  in  fact,  throughout  every  state  in  the 
Union.  They  have  revolutionized  farm  life.  But  the 
thing  that  has  made  all  this  possible  has  been  the  sin- 
gle tax." 

"While  the  single  tax  has  worked  out  so  well  as  to 
silence  nearly  all  doubting  Thomases  in  the  cities,  its 
success  has  been  even  greater  in  the  country.  The 
farmer  was,  under  the  old  regime,  the  most  heavily 
taxed  of  all  persons.  On  all  that  he  consumed,  he 
was  forced  to  pay  the  highest  indirect  tax,  but  more 
especially  was  he  taxed  with  all  severity  on  farm 
buildings  and  improvements.  When  the  single  tax 
was  put  through,  and  land,  irrespective  of  improve- 
ments, made  the  basis  of  taxation,  the  farmer  was  de- 
lighted to  see  that  he  no  longer  was  to  be  subjected 
to  unfairly  bearing  the  burden  of  an  unequal  tax. 
Ever  since,  his  financial  burden  has  been  lightened. 
The  present  high  state  of  development  of  roads  and 
public  buildings  in  rural  sections  all  over  the  country 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  133 

attest  the  wisdom  of  the  single  tax.  Meanwhile,  the 
existing  greatly  increased  general  prosperity  has 
added  to  the  markets  of  the  farmer.  All  this  has 
spelt  prosperity  with  a  big  T'  to  the  agriculturists." 

"This  is  all  very  interesting,  but  to  my  untutored 
mind,  I  can  scarcely  discern  the  difference  between 
single  tax  and  socialism.  I  have  been  very  much  in- 
terested in  the  latter,  as  New  Zealand,  near  us,  as  you 
know,  was  for  a  long  time  socialistic.  As  you  know, 
the  thing  has  proved  a  fizzle  there  and  has  been  re- 
cently completely  abolished.  With  its  failure,  the  en- 
tire world  concluded  that  socialism  was  a  mere  dream 
and  incapable  of  success  when  put  to  a  test  for  any 
long  continued  period,"  declared  Harrington. 

"There  is  where  you  are  wrong,  and  many  another 
has  confused  single  tax  and  socialism.  They  are  as 
different  as  daylight  and  darkness.  Socialism  aims, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  destroy  government.  The 
socialist's  propaganda  is  the  theory  of  the  lazy  man, 
to  the  effect  that  the  government  owes  him  and  every- 
one else  a  living.  Single  taxers  hold  that  everyone 
has  a  right,  that  the  government  owes  it  to  him,  to 
give  him  a  chance  to  earn  a  living  for  himself." 

"Of  course,  now  that  single  taxation  is  the  law  of 
the  land,  imports  and  duties  are  abolished  and  the 
country  now  free  trade  ?"  asked  Harrington. 

"Yes,  we  now  enjoy  free  trade,  but  the  change  was 
a  very  easy  and  bloodless  one.  Of  course  there  was 
opposition,  especially  in  Republican  strongholds  like 
the  state  of  Vermont,  but  now  all,  or  nearly  all,  admit 
that  the  action  was  timely  and  for  the  best." 


134  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

"Did  not  such  a  step  cause  pandemonium  for  the 
protected  industries?"  asked  Harrington. 

"That  talk  was  current  when  the  thing  was  under 
agitation,  but  it  proved  a  mere  bugaboo.  In  the  end, 
very  few  industries  have  been  inconvenienced,  and 
where  one  was  driven  to  the  wall,  two  or  three  fully 
as  thrifty  new  enterprises  sprang  up  to  take  their 
places." 

"What  is  this,  any  way,  a  political  pow  wow?" 
asked  the  elder  Pettibone.  "You  will  talk  Harring- 
ton to  death  and  I  shall  not  be  able  to  have  any  more 
confidential  chats  with  him  on  the  old  days  and  the 
scrapes  we  used  to  get  into." 

"Not  at  all.  I  have  been  deeply  absorbed  in  every 
word,  Mr.  Mayor,"  declared  Harrington  with  mock 
gravity,  "and  I  am  sure  I  shall  endeavor  to  profit  by 
what  I  have  heard." 

"To  think,  though,  that  a  harum  scarum  chap  like 
you,  Frank,  should  have  a  son  the  mayor  of  St.  Al- 
bans !  Well,  well,  what  strange  things  do  happen !" 
declared  Harrington  with  a.  laugh. 

"I  hope  we  may  meet  often,"  declared  the  mayor  as 
he  rose  to  leave,  and  grasped  Harrington's  hand 
warmly. 

"I  certainly  hope  we  may,"  declared  Harrington. 

While  the  mayor  hurried  back  to  his  ofhce  at  the 
city  hall,  the  two  old  cronies  went  into  the  living 
room  to  have  a  still  further  heart-to-heart  chat  and 
exchange  experiences  of  the  past  half  century. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  135 


CHAPTER  XX. 

That  evening  Harrington  could  not  resist  the  temp- 
tation to  go  once  more  to  the  home  of  Jemima.  Ac- 
cordingly, shortly  before  eight  o'clock  found  him  once 
more  ringing  the  bell  at  her  home. 

Once  more  he  was  admitted  by  the  niece,  Eleona, 
who  was  all  smiles  to-night.  "Auntie  will  be  right 
down,  Mr.  Harrington,"  she  stated. 

While  waiting,  as  was  his  wont,  Harrington  once 
more  indulged  in  reverie.  Wasn't  he,  perhaps,  after 
all,  an  old  fool  for  following  up  his  old  flame  ?  Per- 
haps after  all  she  cared  nothing  for  him,  so  why 
should  he  worry  her  with  his  attentions?  He  was 
half  inclined  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat  when  a  soft  voice 
almost  at  his  side  made  him  half  jump. 

"Good  evening,  Mr.  Harrington.  And  how  are 
you  to-day?"  All  thought  of  suddenly  vanishing  fled 
as  he  once  more  beheld  Jemima  standing  before  him. 

"Oh,  I  am  feeling  capital !  I  have  had  a  very  inter- 
esting day.  I  started  it  with  a  long  walk.  Then  I 
had  the  good  fortune  to  find  Frank  Pettibone,  and  I 
went  up  there  and  have  spent  the  biggest  part  of  the 
day  there.  He  is  the  same  old  Frank.  I  had  a  right- 
down  jolly  time,"'  exclaimed  Harrington,  his  eyes 
flashing  fire  and  animation  much  in  the  manner  that 
they  had  been  wont  to  do  long  years  before. 

"Then  I  met  his  son,  the  mayor.  To  think  that  a 
son  of  Frank  Pettibone  would  ever  be  mayor  of  any- 


136  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

thing !  But  a  right  royal  good  chap  his  son  seems  to 
be,  and  we  had  a  very  animated  talk  on  the  new  re- 
gime and  single  tax." 

"Yes,  I  thought  one  of  the  first  things  you  would 
do  would  be  to  look  up  Frank,"  declared  Miss  Hag- 
gerson.  "Well,  what  do  you  think  of  St.  Albans 
now?" 

"I  see  that  it  is  a  far  better  town  industrially,  but 
still  I  do  long  for  those  old  days,"  half  plaintively  de- 
clared Harrington. 

"Nonsense.  Aren't  you  old  enough  and  wise 
enough  by  this  time  to  banish  such  thoughts?  Why, 
you  are  as  sentimental  as  a  girl !" 

"You  used  to  be  sentimental  once,"  declared  Har- 
rington. 

"Oh  that  was  due  to  the  follies  of  youth.  I  hope  I 
am  now  wiser,  as  I  am  certainly  older;  besides,  I  leave 
sentiment  for  those  younger  and  who  have  seen  less 
of  life  and  the  sharp  angles  we  have  all  to  encounter 
sooner  or  later  in  our  careers,"  came  the  reply.  "My 
niece,  Eleona,  is  to  be  married  next  month.  I  think 
she  has  chosen  well,  and  while  I  feel  my  heart  almost 
breaking  at  the  thought  of  losing  her,  still  I  know  I 
cannot  have  her  with  me  always,  and  perhaps  she 
might  wait  longer  and  do  far  worse." 

"Indeed,  allow  me  to  congratulate  Miss  Eleona  and 
yourself  in  that  you  are  to  have  a  new  nephew  and 
one  in  whom  you  have  respect  and  confidence.  But 
as  for  you,  what  do  you  plan  to  do  after  Eleona 
weds  ?" 

"Me?     Oh,  I  am  very  well  able  to  care  for  myself. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  137 

I  shall  remain  right  here  in  this  house.     Where  else 
should  I  go?"  she  asked. 

"Jemima,"  despite  himself  Harrington  could  keep 
still  no  longer,  "Jemima,  I  used  fondly  to  call  you  that 
in  the  old  days,  have  you  still  none  of  the  old  love 
left?  I  have  for  you,  and  for  you  alone,  come  half 
way  around  the  world.  Haven't  you  any  regard  for 
me,  any  smouldering  fires  of  affection  remaining  for 
me  yet?" 

"Indeed,  you  do  not  mean  to  say  you  came  so  far 
to  see  me !  Surely  it  was  your  native  town  that  was 
the  inciting  cause  for  the  long  trip !" 

"Jemima,  you  know  your  woman's  intuition,  if  not 
your  heart,  must  tell  you  that  it  was  not  for  love  of 
my  native  town  that  brought  me  back.  There  was 
something  nearer  and  dearer  than  that.  Jemima," 
there  was  a  world  of  affection  in  the  tones,  "Have  you 
no  love  for  me  still  ?  Can't  we  yet  be  happy,  together 
for  the  remainder  of  our  lives?"  he  pleaded. 

"Really,  Mr.  Harrington,  this  is  rather  abrupt  and 
unexpected.  Think  of  the  years  that  have  elapsed 
and  of  the  changes  and  changed  conditions  that  have 
come  into  our  lives,"  she  answered  with  deep  feeling. 
"Don't  inflict  more  pain  by  calling  me  Mr.  Harring- 
ton. Call  me  Tom  as  in  the  old  days.  Now  vour 
niece  is  to  wed,  as  you  say,  very  soon,  is  an  added 
argument  why  you  should  marry.  Picture  yourself 
all  alone  here  in  this  big  house.  It  is  no  way  for  a 
woman  like  you  to  live." 
"I  feel  equal  to  living  alone.     The  thought  has  no 


138  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

fears  for  me,  Tom,"  she  answered.  "I  will  call  you 
Tom  if  you  wish.     It  will  sound  more  natural." 

"You  haven't  told  me  whether  or  not  you  still  feel 
any  love  for  me.  Just  one  word  of  love,  one  word  of 
encouragement  will  set  back  my  life  fifty  years.  It 
will  make  me  young  once  more  and  will  fully  justify 
what  may  otherwise  be  termed  a  wild  goose  trip  half 
way  around  the  world.  You  haven't  yet  told  me 
that,"  pleaded  Harrington. 

"Well,  fifty  years,  as  I  remarked,  makes  changes, 
very  great  changes,  in  all  our  lives.  Besides,  if  you 
really  loved  me,  why  did  you  not  write  in  all  these 
long,  lonesome  years  ?"  she  turned  her  large,  question- 
ing eyes  toward  his. 

"I  did  not  write,  for  I  thought  you  were  wedded  to 
another.  Then  I  heard  you  were  dead  and  I  gave  up 
all  hope,"  he  answered. 

"Yes,  but  why  did  you  not  try  to  verify  these  ru- 
mors? Why  did  you  wait  all  the  long  years  before 
taking  trouble  to  find  out  the  truth?"  she  asked  re- 
proachfully. 

"I  thought  my  information  was  accurate.  I  was 
so  much  engrossed  in  business  and  in  making  money 
that  I  did  not  feel  that  I  could  spare  sufficient  time  to 
make  the  voyage  to  America.  This  is  the  first  vaca- 
tion, the  first  breathing  spell,  I  have  given  myself." 

"I  fear,  Tom,  that  our  lives  have  drifted  far  apart. 
It  is  now  too  late  to  think  of  marriage.  We  are  both 
on  the  downward  slope  of  life,  but  a  few  more  years 
remain  for  either  of  us,"  she  answered. 

"That  is  the  very  reason  that  I  feel  that  we  should 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  139 

marry,  even  at  this  late  day.  As  for  myself,  I  am  all 
alone  in  the  world.  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  a  rela- 
tive remaining.  I  have  prospered  financially  in  Aus- 
tralia. I  now  have  a  very  substantial  fortune.  We 
can  wed  and  prepare  to  enjoy  the  evening  of  life  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  comforts  and  many  of  the  luxuries 
of  life,"  he  urged. 

"I  still  confess  I  have  some  remaining  affection  for 
you,  but  marriage  at  my  time  of  life  is  something  I 
have  never  dreamed  of.  I  cannot  think  that  it  would 
be  at  all  wise,  for  just  stop  to  consider,  you  and  I  have 
lived  so  very  dissimilar  lives.  We  have  grown  apart. 
We  have  become  confirmed  in  our  habits  of  celibacy, 
and  I  doubt  if  we  would  make  a  good  team  pulling 
double.  We  will  be  friends,  very  dear  friends,  but 
nothing  more,"  she  declared  firmly. 

"Jemima,  you  can  not  mean  to  dash  all  my  hopes  to 
the  ground,"  he  pleaded. 

"I  see  no  other  way.  I  still  have  a  feeling  of  a  very 
dear  friend,  but  I  cannot  marry  you." 

"Jemima,  Jemima,"  he  groaned. 

He  looked  up  into  her  kindly  but  firm  countenance. 
He  saw  resolution  thereon  written.  He  had  had  a 
taste  of  that  in  the  old  days.  Jemima  used  to  be  as 
good  as  her  word.  His  case  seemed  utterly  hopeless. 
Faintly  he  started  toward  the  door. 

"You  will  call  just  the  same  as  if  this  had  not  hap- 
pened?" she  asked. 

"I  cannot  promise, — I — I  will  try  to."  Then  in  con- 
fusion and  despair  he  vanished  in  the  darkness. 


140  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

With  a  feeling  of  greater  loneliness  than  he  had 
ever  experienced  since  he  left  Australia,  Harrington 
awoke  the  next  morning.  He  was  back  in  his  old 
home  town,  but  it  was  no  longer  the  same.  The  only 
real  pleasure  he  had  experienced  was  in  meeting  his 
old  chum.  Now  the  real  object  of  his  journey  had 
been  unachieved.  What  good  was  St.  Albans,  what 
good  was  anything,  if  Jemima  was  left  out  of  his  life  ? 
To  be  sure,  he  had  got  along  all  these  years  by  him- 
self, but  that  was  in  Australia.  In  St.  Albans  it  was 
different.  The  very  name  was  completely  bound  up 
in  thoughts  of  Jemima.  There  was  no  St.  Albans 
without  her.  He  might  far  better  have  remained  in 
Australia. 

In  the  deepest  of  gloom,  he  rose  and  began  to  dress. 
In  his  mind  was  a  half  resolve  to  return  to  Australia 
and  end  his  days  in  the  land  of  his  adoption.  His 
morning  electric  shoe  shine,  his  automatic  shave,  were 
gone  through  with  in  a  perfunctory  manner. 

He  was  in  no  mood  to  go  down  to  the  dining  room 
and  meet  the  stares  of  strange  faces.  Accordingly, 
he  ordered  his  solitary  breakfast  through  the  menuo- 
phone  and  a  few  minutes  later  ate  of  the  frugal  meal, 
all  that  he  cared  for  this  morning. 

As  he  entered  the  lobby  of  the  hotel,  this  time  his 
step  lacked  the  elasticity  that  had  been  his  character- 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  Hl 

istic.     Just  then,  to  his  surprise,  he  saw    a  familiar 
face  coming  toward  him. 

"Why,  hello,  Harrington,"  was  the  surprised  cry  of 
pleasure. 

"Well,  well,  if  it  isn't  my  new-found  friend,  Mr. 
Heatherton,  whom  I  had  the  great  good  fortune  to 
meet  at  the  Cosmopolitan  Hotel  in  Xew  York !" 

"Of  all  the  places  I  expected  to  meet  you,  this  is  the 
most  improbable!"  declared  Heatherton.  "What  in 
the  world  brought  you  up  to  the  Green  Mountain 
State?" 

"What  caused  you  to  come  up  here  yourself?" 
"Well,  now,  you  are  a  real  Yankee,  answering  my 
question  with  another.  I  am  here  not  on  business 
connected  with  my  company,  but  on  personal  matters. 
I  frequently  take  a  run  up  to  St.  Albans.  But,  say, 
you  never  told  me  that  your  destination  was  St.  Al- 
bans when  you  told  me  the  interesting  story  of  your 
life  in  Australia.  Never  for  a  moment  did  I  dream 
that  St.  Albans  was  the  place  of  your  birth.  You  at 
once  assume  new  interest  in  my  eyes." 

"Really,  you  seem  to  be  quite  familiar  with  the 
place  and  much  interested  in  it.  Come,  what  little 
fairy  brings  you  hither  ?"  asked  Harrington  playfully, 
his  good  spirits  returning  now  that  he  had  seen  a 
familiar  face. 

"Why,  how  did  you  guess  it  ?  Come,  who  gave  you 
the  tip  ?"  responded  the  young  man  surprisedly. 

"No  one  gave  me  the  tip.  I  just  thought  I  would 
'josh'  you.  I  really  did  not  know.  But  now  I  am  as- 
sured that  I  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  all  unconsciously." 


142  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

"Well,  now  you  know  so  much  I  do  not  mind  mak- 
ing you  my  father  confessor.  I  have  a  little  sweet- 
heart up  here — the  dearest  little  girl  in  all  the  world. 
I  hope  in  another  month  to  make  her  my  wife." 

A  look  of  interest,  then  of  half  despair,  swept  over 
the  face  of  the  elder  man.  "Profit  by  my  advice.  If 
you  have  the  right  girl,  marry  her  now.  Do  not  go 
away  and  wait  to  make  a  fortune  before  you  call  her 
your  own.  Marry  her  now,"  exclaimed  Harrington 
emphatically. 

"That  is  just  what  I  intend  to  do.  But  let  me  see, 
I  believe  you  have  had  a  little  romance  in  this  town, 
too.  How  did  it  turn  out  ?  Did  you  find  the  fair  one 
waiting  after  fifty  years,  as  you  told  me  you  have  been 
away  that  long?" 

Harrington's  usually  composed  manner  showed 
signs  of  giving  way.  "My  boy,"  he  said  with  half 
quivering  voice,  "that  is  all  over.  It  was  but  the  idle 
fancy  of  a  foolish  old  man  advancing  into  a  state  of 
second  childhood." 

"Why,  poor  chap,  you  don't  mean  to  say  she  is 
dead?"  asked  Heatherton  sympathetically. 

"Not  dead  in  actuality,  but  just  the  same  dead  to 
me.  She  lives,  but  has  confessed  to  me  that  she  can 
no  longer  think  of  me  in  the  old  light  as  her  sweet- 
heart." 

"Well  that  is  pretty  plaguey  tough  after  all  your 
trip,  but  cheer  up ;  she  may  yet  change  her  mind. 
They  say  a  woman's  'no'  means  'yes.'  It  may  prove 
to  be  so  in  this  case." 

"There  is  no  hope  of  that.     Last  night  I  sought  her 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  143 

out  and  poured  out  my  heart  to  her.  I  could  restrain 
myself  no  longer.  The  end  of  it  all  was  that  she  in- 
formed me  that  I  could  remain  a  very  dear  friend,  but 
no  more." 

"Ha,  ha.  a  kind  of  sister  to  you.  I  begin  to  think 
women  are  all  alike,  be  they  young  or  old.  Well,  that 
is  tough,  but  I  would  not  care.  Perhaps  she  is  not 
worthy  of  such  a  love  as  that  of  yours." 

"That  is  just  the  trouble,"  half  sobbed  Harrington, 
more  like  a  youth  than  like  a  man  of  maturity.  "She 
is  the  very  best,  truest,  noblest  woman  in  all  the  world. 
I  would  never  marry  another,  for  her  equal  does  not, 
can  not,  exist." 

"Whew,  pretty  strong  language  for  a  man  to  use  in 
laudation  of  a  woman  who  has  heartlessly  just  turned 
him  down.  If  she  is  any  ways  worthy  of  such  a  love 
as  that  of  yours,  I  hope  you  may  yet  win  her." 

"There  is  no  hope  of  that.  I  began  this  morning 
to  think  of  returning  to  Australia.  I  am,  however, 
glad  to  see  others  happy.  Tell  me  more  of  your  lady 
love.  Who  is  she?  I  may  know,  or  rather  have 
known,  her  family  if  she  is  a  St.  Albans  girl." 

"Her  name  is  Sears — Miss  Eleona  Sears;  she  lives 
with  her  maiden  aunt,  Miss  Haggerson,"  was  the 
ready  reply.  "Why,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  Are 
you  ill?"  he  asked  solicitously,  as  he  observed  the  ex- 
pression and  nervous  twitch  of  the  muscles  of  Har- 
rington's face. 

"No,  I  am  all  right.  The  name  startled  me  a  little. 
Miss  Haggerson  happens  to  be — my  old  sweetheart." 

"The  devil  she  is !"  exclaimed    Heatherton  with  a 


144  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

long,  low  whistle.  "And  she  is  the  one  who  so  heart- 
lessly turned  you  down !" 

"Do  not  blame  her.  I  have  no  reason  to  reproach 
her,"  declared  Harrington. 

"Well,  isn't  that  strange !  How  little  the  world  is, 
after  all !  To  think  that  we  should  meet  here,  and 
that  you  should  be  the  old  sweetheart  of  the  aunt  of 
my  own  little  fair  one,"  mused  the  younger  man. 

"Well,  we  shall  meet  again  before  I  leave,  I  most 
certainly  hope,"  declared  Heatherton  warmly. 

"I  most  certainly  hope  we  shall,"  echoed  Harring- 
ton. 

For  the  rest  of  the  day,  Harrington  wandered  half 
aimlessly  through  the  different  sections  of  the  city. 
He  had  lost  half  the  interest  in  the  town  that  he  had 
possessed  upon  his  arrival. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  hustle  and  bustle  of  the  industrial  section  of 
the  city  most  interested  Harrington,  although  his  in- 
terest in  anything  was  not  as  acute  as  it  had  been 
twenty-four  hours  before.  He  wandered,  however, 
in  a  half  careless  manner  out  among  the  aero  factories. 
It  was  now  shortly  after  3  130  in  the  afternoon.  He 
was  surprised  to  see  vast  hordes  of  men  issuing  forth. 
At  first  this  seemed  to  him  to  be  an  unusual  proceed- 
ing for  so  early.  Then  he  chanced  to  remember  that 
his  friend  Heatherton  had  once  told  him  while  in  New 
York  that  the  average  workingman's  day  was  but  five 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  145 

hours  instead  of  eight,  as  had  many  years  before  been 
the  custom. 

Up  the  street  he  sauntered.  Then  he  came  upon 
one  who  was  evidently  a  laboring  man  who  looked 
up  at  him  with  such  a  friendly  air  that  he  was  almost 
compelled  to  speak  to  him.  "Rather  early  to  be  quit- 
ting work,  isn't  it?"  asked  Harrington  by  way  of 
starting  up  a  conversation. 

"Oh,  no.  This  is  the  regular  time  of  closing  each 
afternoon,"  was  the  response. 

"Well,  you  men  have  a  lot  of  time  for  recreation," 
declared  Harrington.  I  never  used  to  be  accustomed 
to  anything  like  this." 

"Can't  be  you  are  used  to  the  union  regulations  in 
the  factories  of  the  United  States/'  declared  the  man 
decidedly,  but  not  unkindly. 

"No,  you  are  right,  I  am  not.  It  is  not  so  in  Aus- 
tralia where  I  have  been  living." 

"We  have  had  the  shorter  working  day  here  for 
some  years  now.  In  the  factory  where  I  work,  I  am 
a  foreman  and  I  know  that  the  men  actually  produce 
more  than  they  did  under  the  six-hour  day  which  we 
had  in  vogue  up  to  the  last  five  years." 

The  two  men  were  now  walking  along  the  street  to- 
gether, as  if  they  had  been  regularly  introduced  or 
had  been  acquainted  for  some  time.  It  had  ever  been 
Harrington's  nature  to  make  friends  wherever  he 
went,  and  this  case  was  no  exception. 

"Our  men  go  to  work  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and  work  until  half  past  eleven.  Then  they  return  at 
1  o'clock  and  work  until  3  :3c     While  the  day  is  much 


146  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

shortened  thereby,  the  work  actually  accomplished  is, 
as  I  say,  more  than  under  the  longer  working  day. 
This  gives  time  for  physical  recreation  and  for  intel- 
lectual development.  The  men  come  to  their  work 
fresh  and  anxious  to  turn  out  the  maximum  product 
in  the  minimum  time." 

"This  is  very  interesting.  I  have  heard  the  same 
argument  before,  but  I  am  glad  to  hear  it  from  the 
lips  of  others  in  a  position  to  know,  for  I  am  thereby 
more  than  ever  assured  that  it  is  the  truth,"  declared 
Harrington.  "But  how  do  the  men  put  in  their  time  ? 
In  the  larger  cities  there  are  various  clubs  and  schools 
where  the  men  can  actually  improve  themselves  phys- 
ically and  mentally,  but  in  a  city  as  small  as  St.  Al- 
bans, what  is  there  to  do  betimes?" 

"Why,  of  course  you  know  there  are  the  night 
schools  and  the  social  centers  in  the  school  buildings. 
But  what  we  have  here  and  what  is  becoming  insti- 
tuted also  in  other  places,  is  a  workingman's  club. 
This  city  being  an  airship  manufacturing  city  to  a 
large  degree,  the  various  airship  factories  have  come 
to  a  mutual  agreement  whereby  they  have  established 
a  workingman's  club.  It  has  all  the  adjuncts  of  a 
well-appointed  club  house,  has  a  fine  gymnasium, 
swimming  pool  and  all  that  goes  with  it,  also  a  fine 
library,  smoking  rooms,  dining  rooms,  billiard  rooms, 
etc.  On  certain  late  afternoons,  after  factory  hours, 
and  on  different  nights,  classes  are  conducted  in  vari- 
ous branches  of  study,"  declared  the  informant.  "All 
told,  it  is  is  a  very  novel  and  meritorious  club." 

"This  is  decidedly  interesting,"   was  Harrington's 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  147 

comment,  "but  what  I  want  to  know  is,  who  foots  the 
bill  ?" 

"The  membership  is  absolutely  free.  There  is  not 
one  cent  of  dues.  The  club  is  maintained  solely  by 
the  different  aero  factories.  They  jointly  and  propor- 
tionately foot  the  bill,"  was  the  answer. 

"Well  I  am  sure  that  is  very  obliging  of  Capital, 
but  is  it  not  a  great  drain  and  unnecessary  one  on  its 
supporters  ?" 

"Not  at  all.  The  plan  was  entered  into  rather  dubi- 
ously, for  it  had  to  be  tried  out  and  make  good.  Now 
the  heads  of  the  various  factories  in  the  scheme  admit 
that  it  has  amply  paid.  The  men  are  in  so  much  bet- 
ter health  physically  through  the  'gym'  alone,  that 
they  are  able  to  work  far  faster  and  better  in  the 
shortened  day.  Their  minds,  too,  are  in  better  trim 
for  the  classes  and  studies.  Still  better,  to  my  way 
of  thinking,  is  the  social  end.  In  this  club*  the  rich 
and  the  poor  often  mingle.  The  factory  owners  often 
there  mix  up  with  the  men  in  their  employ.  This  en- 
courages good  fellowship.  It  goes  a  long  ways  to- 
ward bridging  the  chasm  between  capital  and  labor. 
Not  a  strike  nor  labor  disturbance,  large  or  small,  has 
occurred  since  the  club  was  started.  It  has  been  a 
wonderful  leveler.  Employers  and  employees  feel  an 
actual  comradeship,  so  anything  but  the  strike  spirit 
can  thrive  under  such  conditions." 

"Well,  the  longer  I  live,  the  more  I  learn,"  declared 
Harrington.  "From  the  moment  I  arrived  from  Aus- 
tralia I  have  been    learning.     I  am  sure  I  am  very 


148  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

deeply  indebted  to  you  for  the  insight  into  modern 
conditions  that  you  have  given  me." 

"Not  at  all.  I  am  always  glad  to  find  a  willing 
listener,"  was  the  reply. 

By  this  time  Harrington  had  made  a  half  circle 
around  the  city  and  found  himself  at  the  door  of  his 
hotel.  Leaving  his  chance  acquaintance,  he  entered 
the  hostelry  in  better  spirits  than  he  had  been  in  since 
his  unfortunate  call  of  the  night  before. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

That  evening,  time  hung  heavily  upon  the  hands  of 
Harrington  for  the  first  time  since  he  had  left  Aus- 
tralia. Should  he  spend  the  evening  with  Jemima? 
She  had  exacted  from  him  a  promise  to  call,  when  he 
left  her  the  night  before.  Yet  how  could  he  humiliate 
himself  to  go  over  there  again,  and  especially  so  soon  ? 
To  be  sure  he  felt  that  he  would  give  almost  anything 
to  be  able  to  see  her  again  that  night,  to  review  with 
her  the  experiences  of  the  day — he  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  do  so  in  the  old  days.  Her  smile,  her  quiet 
encouragement,  would  mean  so  much  to  him,  he 
thought.  But  no,  he  would  not  throw  himself  in  her 
way  so  much,  for  were  he  to  do  so,  her  friendship,  the 
kind  of  regard  she  declared  she  now  felt  for  him, 
would  turn  to  dislike,  perhaps  even  hate. 

Funny  old  world  this  is,  after  all,  thought  Harring- 
ton. Some  people  seem  to  be  created  to  enjoy  happi- 
ness, while  others  can  but  look  on  at  the  happiness  of 
others. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  149 

Just  as  Harrington  was  sadly  planning  to  spend  a 
lonesome  evening  in  his  room,  there  came  a  call  for 
him. 

To  his  surprise,  he  found  it  was  his  new-found 
friend,  the  mayor. 

"I  am  going  out  for  a  long  spin  in  my  car,"  he  de- 
clared, "and  father  insisted  that  before  I  went,  I  come 
around  and  get  you  and  bring  you  over  to  spend  the 
evening  with  him,  for  he  is  lonesome." 

"Well,  I  was  just  settling  myself  down  to  a  quiet 
evening  in  my  room,  but  I  am  sure  I  shall  be  only  too 
glad  to  go  with  you,"  was  Harrington's  answer.  "It 
was  very  kind  of  you  to  come  for  me." 

"Not  at  all.  I  am  orriy  too  glad  to  be  able  to  come 
for  you." 

A  few  minutes  later  Harrington  was  again  at  the 
home  of  his  old  friend,  who  acted  delighted  to  see 
him. 

"I  thought  if  you  were  not  away,  he  would  bring 
you  back  with  him.  I  am  all  alone  this  evening  and  I 
wanted  to  see  you.     How  have  you  spent  the  day  ?" 

"Oh,  I  have  strolled  around  and  amused  myself  in  a 
quiet  way.  It  has  been  one  regret  that  I  have  not 
seen  any  more  familiar  faces.  I  guess  all  the  old- 
timers  but  us  are  gone  forever." 

"Kind  of  seems  that  way  to  me,  too.  It  makes  me 
sad,  too,  when  I  allow  myself  to  dwell  upon  the  past. 
But  how  about  Jemima?  You  certainly  must  have 
seen  her  to-day.  I  expect  there  will  be  wedding  bells, 
old  shoes,  rice  and  what  not  ere  long,"  he  declared 
playfully. 


150  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

Harrington's  manner  was  by  no  means  playful. 
"No,  Frank,  that  foolishness  is  not  for  me.  I  thought 
when  I  started  for  America  that  there  might  be  some 
such  ending  to  it  all.  Now  it  can  never  be."  He 
shook  his  head  sadly,  and  with  a  hopeless  air. 

"Bosh,  man,  you  have  not  changed  your  mind  and 
gone  back  on  an  old  love,"  declared  Pettibone. 

"No,  Frank,  but  she  has  gone  back  on  me,"  was  the 
reply. 

"Whew !  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  Jemima  has 
turned  you  down !"  was  the  surprised  response. 

"She  has  told  me  that  it  is  too  late  for  her  to  think 
of  marriage,  and  I  do  not  know  but  she  is  right,"  de- 
clared Harrington  with  emotion. 

"I  am  half  of  a  notion  to  make  a  sudden  break  and 
start  for  Australia.  The  Enoch  Arden  has  made  a 
mess  of  it  all  by  returning  when  things  were  all  very 
well  as  they  were.  Now  it  has  been  disagreeable  for 
her  and  hard  on  me.  I  was  an  old  fool  to  think  that 
at  this  late  day  things  could  be  patched  up.  I  wish  I 
had  stayed  where  I  was  in  Australia  and  quietly  ended 
my  life  there,  unknown,  unmourned,  forgotten." 
Harrington  sadly  shook  his  head. 

"Come,  come,  old  man.  It  will  come  out  all  -right. 
I'll  bet  my  best  hat  that  it  is  straightened  out  and  that 
you  and  Jemima  get  tied,"  encouraged  Pettibone. 

"No.  there  is  no  chance  of  that.  It  is  all  over.  I 
do  not  intend  to  call  there  again." 

"You  may  rest  assured  you  have  my  sympathy,  old 
chap.  I  hope,  though,  you  will  not  think  of  returning 
to  Australia.     What  is  there  there  to   interest  you? 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  151 

Far  better  settle  down  here.  That  seems  to  me  to  be 
the  wisest  course." 

"I  cannot  say  what  I  shall  do.  I  shall  do  whatever 
seems  to  be  best;  as  yet  I  am  very  much  undecided." 

Then  they  resumed  the  old  subject,  stories  of  the 
old  days,  and  talked  of  the  various  careers  of  their 
friends.  Harrington  appeared  to  regain  much  of  his 
old  cheerfulness  as  they  talked.  Almost  reluctantly 
he  heard  the  noise  in  the  street  below  of  the  returning 
car  of  the  mayor,  who  had  called  to  take  him  back  to 
his  hotel. 

"I  had  a  delightful  spin  in  the  country  to-night," 
declared  the  mayor.  "I  wish  you  could  have  been 
along,  too.  Some  day  soon,  when  you  feel  so  dis- 
posed, I  would  like  to  take  you  out  into  the  country 
where  I  went  to-night.  I  want  to  show  you  what  one 
man  has  done  to  reclaim  an  'abandoned'  farm."  Har- 
rington thanked  him  sincerely  for  the  invitation  and 
promised  to  take  the  trip  whenever  the  mayor  should 
be  at  leisure  and  so  desired.  They  were  now  in  front 
of  the  hotel  and  the  two  separated  for  the  night,  Har- 
rington again  thanking  the  younger  man  for  his 
courtesy. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

We  will  now  return  to  Heatherton.  After  leaving 
Harrington  that  morning,  he  hurried  out  to  make  a 
call  and  surprise  Eledha,  who  believed  him  to  be  still 
in  Boston. 


152  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

With  eager  steps,  he  ran  up  to  the  front  door  which 
he  found  ajar.     Into  the  dining  room  he  bounced. 

"Why,  Tom,  where  in  the  world  did  you  come 
from?"  cried  Miss  Sears.  "Of  all  persons,  I  did  not 
expect  to  see  you  to-day." 

"Well,  if  you  are  displeased  or  otherwise  disturbed, 
I  will  at  once  light  out  for  Boston,"  declared  Heather- 
ton  with  mock  seriousness. 

"Now  you  know  better  than  that,  Tom,"  declared 
Eleona  in  an  abused  air.  "You  know  I  am  always 
delighted  to  see  you,  but  to-day  I  had  no  idea  of  your 
coming." 

After  an  affectionate  embrace,  Heatherton  sat  down 
and  explained  how  he  had  business  in  Burlington  and 
had  taken  a  little  extra  time  off  and  come  the  rest  of 
the  way. 

"Well,  we  will  go  and  find  Auntie  and  tell  her.  She 
will  be  as  much  surprised  as  I  was,"  declared  Eleona. 

Then  the  two,  arm  in  arm,  started  to  look  for  the 
elderly  woman.  A  search  of  nearly  the  whole  house 
was  necessary  before  they  discovered  her.  Room 
after  room  on  both  floors  were  carefully  visited,  but 
in  vain. 

"I  wonder  if  she  can  be  in  the  attic?"  asked  Eleona 
quizzically.  "That  is  the  only  half-way  probable 
place  now  to  look  for  her." 

Together  they  started  up  the  attic  stairs.  In  the 
rear  of  the  big  attic  store  room  an  unusual  sight  met 
their  eyes.  There  was  the  aged  woman  reclining  on 
a  chair,  her  head  buried    in  her  hands.     On  her  lap 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  153 

were  some  photographs  and  trinkets,  souvenirs  of  her 
girlhood  days. 

"Why,  Auntie,  what  can  be  the  matter?  Are  you 
ill  ?  Come !  See  Tom  has  come  to  surprise  us !" 
cried  Eleona. 

Like  a  frightened  fawn,  the  elderly  woman  rose  and 
with  a  prodigious  effort,  endeavored  to  assume  her 
usual  manner.  It  was  impossible  for  her,  however, 
to  hide  the  tear-stained  cheeks. 

"My  dear  boy,  I  am  delighted  to  see  you,  and  it  is 
all  the  more  a  pleasure  that  it  is  a  surprise."  In  her 
manner  was  utmost  sincerity  of  welcome,  but  her 
voice  sounded  harsh  and  unnatural. 

"Auntie,  you  are  certainly  ill.  What  is  the  mat- 
ter?" cried  Eleona  in  alarm. 

"No,  no,  my  child,  I  am  well.  I  was  only  up  here 
looking  up  some  old  clothes." 

She,  however,  appeared  weak  and  tottery.  She 
gladly  accepted  Tom's  strong  arm  to  assist  her  down 
stairs  again. 

Her  whole  manner  seemed  strange.  Both  Tom  and 
Eleona  silently  noted  it.  Soon  Miss  Haggerson  ex- 
cused herself  and  went  out  into  the  garden  to  gather 
flowers  for  the  dining  table. 

"I  do  not  know  what  is  the  matter  with  Auntie.  I 
never  saw  her  act  this  way,"  declared  Eleona  anx- 
iously.    "I  fear  she  is  ill." 

"Do  you  not  know  of  any  cause  for  her  to  act  dif- 
ferently than  usual?"  asked  Tom. 

"Why,  what  do  you  mean?     You  always  did  like 


154  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

to  talk  in  riddles.  If  you  know  what  is  the  matter 
with  Auntie,  why  do  you  not  tell  me?"  half  pouted 
Eleona. 

"Has  she  undergone  any  excitement  of  a  nature  out 
of  the  ordinary?"  pursued  Tom,  not  answering  the 
question. 

"Why,  no.     Not  that  I  know  of,"  was  the  reply. 

"Has  she  had  no  callers,  seen  no  one  who  might 
affect  her  considerably?"  asked  Tom  earnestly. 

"Why,  yes,  she  had  a  call,  two  calls,  in  fact,  from 
an  old  man  from  Australia,  a  Air.  Harrington  who 
used  to  be  a  friend  of  hers  in  her  girlhood  in  St.  Al- 
bans. 

"Do  you  think  that  may  or  may  not  have  had  any 
effect  upon  her  mentally  or  physically?"  asked  Hea- 
therton. 

"Why,  Tom,  you  talk  strangely  to-day.  What  pos- 
sible effect  would  meeting  an  old  acquaintance  have  ?" 
she  asked  surprisedly. 

"Oh,  Miss  Innocent,  you  are  too  unsophisticated 
for  this  world,"  answered  he  banteringly.  "Why 
don't  you  cut  your  eye  teeth  and  see  what  is  happen- 
ing under  your  very  eyes  ?" 

"Will  you  never  quit  talking  in  riddles  and  let  me 
know  what  you  are  driving  at  ?"  asked  Eleona  impet- 
uously. 

"Well,  if  I  must  tell  you.  That  Mr.  Harrington 
was  the  old  lover  of  your  aunt.  They  were  engaged 
to  be  married  when  he  left  for  Australia  to  make  his 
fortune  and  come  back  and  claim  her.  Then  he 
heard  she  was  dead  and  he  stopped  writing.     Now 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  155 

fifty  years  later  he  has  returned  with  the  sole  object 
of  claiming  your  aunt  as  his  wife.  The  other  night, 
when  he  called  here,  he  proposed  and  she  rejected 
him.  I  believe  she  still  loves  him.  I  am  sure  he  loves 
her  very  ardently  still." 

"Well,  Tom,  you  surprise  me !  Auntie  have  a 
flame!  He  propose  and  she  reject  him!  Well,  this 
is  very  romantic.  Never  a  word  has  she  breathed  to 
me  of  it.     I  never  once  suspected." 

"What  we  want  to  do  is  to  try  to  bring  about  a  rec- 
onciliation. I  think  he  is  the  man  to  make  her  a  good 
husband,  and  with  you  married,  what  sort  of  life  will 
she  lead  all  alone  here?  Her  very  best  course  is  to 
marry  him,  and  I  feel  sure  she  still  loves  him  and  he 
her,"  replied  Heatherton  earnestly. 

"Well,  Tom,  your  deep  intuition,  mind  reading,  or 
whatever  quality  it  is  that  enabled  you  to  discern  all 
this,  is  truly  marvellous.  Really,  never  before  did  I 
realize  your  wonderful  ability  in  the  match-making 
line.  You  have  me  completely  discounted.  Things 
right  under  my  eyes  I  fail  to  see,  yet  you  know  all 
about  them." 

"You  are  not  envious,  are  you,  Eleona?"  asked  her 
lover.  "Besides,  only  by  accident  did  I  ever  learn  all 
this.  I  chanced  in  New  York  to  meet  Mr.  Harring- 
ton at  my  hotel.  He  told  me  of  his  life  and  that  he 
was  returning  with  just  one  real  object  in  the  world — 
the  claiming  as  his  own  the  only  woman  in  the  world 
in  his  eyes." 

"Well,  isn't  that  strange  that  you  happened  to  meet 
him?" 


156  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

"That  isn't  all  that  is  strange.  I  never  asked  him 
the  name  or  home  town  of  his  old  flame.  I  had  large- 
ly forgotten  having  met  the  man,  when,  upon  coming 
to  St.  Albans,  whom  did  I  run  into  in  the  hotel  here 
but  Harrington.  He  was  very  glum.  I  barely  recog- 
nized him  as  the  same  light-hearted  man  I  had  before 
seen.  I  was  determined  to  know  the  reason  for  the 
change.  Reluctantly  he  confessed  that  he  had  sought 
out  his  elderly  lady  love,  proposed,  and  that  she  had 
refused  him.  In  despair,  he  was  contemplating  im- 
mediate return  to  Australia  which  I  tried  to  discour- 
age. Then  I  received  a  shock.  I  discovered  that  the 
woman  in  the  case  was  none  other  but  your  aunt !" 

"It  is  certainly  strange.  Think  of  Auntie  having  a 
sweetheart!  Can't  I  get  back  at  her  now  for  times 
she  has  bantered  me  about  you !" 

"What  we  must  do  is  to  try  to  bring  them  together. 
Employ  all  your  innate  cleverness  and  see  what  you 
can  do." 

Eleona  readily  promised.  Just  then  her  aunt  en- 
tered with  a  handful  of  flowers,  and  all  further  con- 
versation was  cut  short. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"Auntie,"  began  Eleona  that  afternoon,  "why 
doesn't  Mr.  Harrington  come  back  to  call?  I  am  sure 
I  heard  you  invite  him  to  call  again,  but  he  never  has 
come,"  declared  Eleona. 

"Why,  my  child,  it  was  only  two  days  ago  when  he 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  157 

was  here.  Do  you  expect  him  to  camp  out  here  day 
and  night?"  replied  Miss  Jemima. 

"You  used  to  be  pretty  thick,  didn't  you,  years 
ago?"  pursued  the  niece  relentlessly. 

"Why,  Eleona,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  to-day? 
The  idea !"  she  remarked.  "How  did  you  ever  get 
such  an  impression?" 

"Why,  there  are  lots  of  people  around  town  who 
remember  you  two  and  recall  his  going  to  Australia." 
She  stopped  and  watched  the  effect  her  words  pro- 
duced. "Do  you  know,"  she  continued,  "I  half  be- 
lieve you  are  the  real  magnet  that  caused  him  to  re- 
turn to  America." 

"Surprising  wisdom  for  one  so  young!"  remarked 
her  aunt  deprecatingly,  but  in  no  way  unkindly. 

"Now  I  came  to  you  from  the  first  and  told  all 
concerning  my  love  affair  with  Tom.  Now  if  you 
have  a  love  affair  or  ever  had  one,  you  should  recip- 
rocate by  baring  your  heart  to  me,"  argued  her  niece 
persuasively. 

"What  a  funny  mood  you  are  in  to-day,"  remarked 
the  aged  woman.  "Love  affairs  are  very  natural  for 
the  young,  but  not  for  the  old." 

"But  Auntie,  confess,  did  you  not  once  love  Mr. 
Harrington?"  She  turned  her  earnest  eyes  up  to 
meet  the  expression  of  her  aunt. 

"Well,  dear,  since  you  seem  so  curious,  I  will  tell 
you.  Many  years  ago  we  were  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried. He  was  poor  then  and  he  thought  he  needed 
more  money  before  he  married.  Accordingly,  he 
went    far-away — to    Australia.     He  promised  me  he 


158  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

would  return  soon  to  claim  me  as  his  bride.  Years 
went  by.  He  never  came.  His  letters  stopped.  I 
became  convinced  that  he  had  died.  Never  did  I  ex- 
pect to  see  him  again,  when  now,  after  all  these  years, 
he  has  returned  in  the  flesh." 

"Isn't  it  all  so  strange?  But  why  did  you  not  tell 
me  of  it  all  the  night  he  first  called?"  asked  Eleona. 

"I  did  not  think  it  would  interest  you.  I  told  you 
he  was  an  old  friend.  I  thought  that  explanation 
sufficient." 

"But,  Auntie,  don't  you  still  love  him?"  she  asked 
earnestly. 

"You  seem  very  curious  this  afternoon,  my  dear. 
Why  do  you  seek  to  pry  into  the  secrets  of  my  inmost 
heart?" 

"Auntie,  dearest,"  she  came  and  huddled  on  her 
knees  close  to  the  chair  occupied  by  Miss  Jemima, 
"you  took  me  as  a  babe  when  your  sister,  my  mother, 
died,  and  you  have  been  like  a  mother,  not  as  an  aunt, 
to  me.  Now,  after  a  long,  interesting  childhood  and 
early  womanhood,  I  am  soon  to  wed,  to  go  away,  to 
break  this  happy  life  that  we  have  led  here.  This 
thought  makes  me  so  sad  when  I  think  of  it,  of  your 
being  left  here  alone,  that  at  times  I  am  almost  re- 
solved not  to  wed  but  to  remain  ever  by  your  side,  to 
comfort,  to  console." 

"My  dearest  little  child,  it  is  true  we  are  more  like 
mother  and  daughter  than  aunt  and  niece.  Your  hap- 
piness is  ever  my  own."  The  old  lady's  form  swayed 
to  and  fro  and  great  sobs,  half  suppressed,  heaved  her 
bosom. 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  159 

"Don't  you  love  Mr.  Harrington  just  a  little, 
Auntie?  I  think  from  what  I  have  seen  that  he  is  a 
fine  old  man,"  declared  Eleona. 

"He  is  indeed  a  fine  old  man,  and  worthy  of  the 
greatest  respect.  I  cannot  think  of  marriage,  though, 
even  to  the  best  man  in  the  world.  Do  not  think  of 
such  foolish  things  again,  dear,"  was  the  reply. 

From  the  resolute  expression  on  her  aunt's  face, 
Eleona  saw  full  well  that  there  was  no  use  of  argu- 
ment. Evidently  she  was  a  fizzle  as  match-maker. 
She  had  thought  she  possessed  sufficient  adroitness  to 
accomplish  the  end  she  sought.  The  more  she  had 
thought  the  match  over  since  Heatherton  had 
opened  her  eyes,  the  more  she  was  convinced  that  it 
was  the  proper  thing  for  her  aunt  to  wed.  It  had 
ever  been  a  problem,  the  future  of  her  aunt,  after  her 
own  marriage.  Here  seemed  a  happy  solution  of  the 
vexed  problem,  but  now  this  had  failed. 

When  Heatherton  called  later,  she  was  compelled  to 
admit  that  her  ability  as  match-maker  was  very  lim- 
ited and  that  she  saw  but  failure  ahead.  Heatherton 
was  by  no  means  discouraged.  He  believed  that  a 
way  still  remained  to  bring  the  two  together.  To 
find  that  way  was  still  his  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"If  you  are  so  you  can  go  this  afternoon,  I  would 
like  to  have  you  ride  out  in  my  car  with  me  into  the 
country  on  that  trip  I  mentioned  to  you,"  declared 


160  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

Mayor  Pettibone  upon  meeting  Harrington  on  the 
street  one  morning  a  few  days  later. 

"I  am  a  man  of  leisure,  with  no  pressing  engage- 
ments, and  I  shall  be  only  too  delighted  to  accompany 
you,"  declared  Harrington. 

"Well,  then  I  will  call  for  ycu  with  my  car  about  2 
o'clock  and  we  will  make  the  start." 

"I  will  be  ready  at  the  hotel  at  that  time,"  declared 
the  aged  man. 

Promptly  at  the  hour  named,  the  mayor's  big  car 
drew  up  before  the  hotel  door.  Harrington  was 
ready  waiting,  and  in  a  trice  they  were  merrily  spin- 
ning over  the  country. 

Well-kept  farms  lined  the  road  on  both  sides, 
crowding  well  up  to  the  city  limits.  Fleet  "monos" 
furnished  excellent  interurban  transportation,  just  as 
did  the  trolleys  in  their  day. 

Over  roads  of  macadam  and  asphalt  they  flew, 
roads  that  were  the  equal  of  city  streets  years  before. 

"There  do  not  seem  to  be  many  abandoned  farms 
around  here,"  declared  Harrington  enthusiastically. 

"No,  there  are  virtually  none  now,  for  there  can  be 
none  when  taxation  is  so  high  and  computed  on  land 
only.  This,  as  I  before  stated,  is  one  of  the  effects  of 
the  single  tax." 

"One  thing  has  occurred  to  me  since  our  interesting 
discussion  of  the  other  day.  How  has  the  single  tax 
affected  trusts  and  monopolies,  such  as  Standard  Oil, 
coal,  etc.?"  asked  Harrington. 

"Now  you  have  struck  at  the  root  of  the  matter. 
In  no  instance  has  the  single  tax  worked  out  better 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  161 

than  in  the  virtual  abolition  of  monopolies.  All  mo- 
nopolies that  are  based  on  land  are  practically  put  out 
of  commission  for  the  good  of  all." 

"Look,  for  example,  at  the  case  of  United  States 
Steel.  Many  years  ago  that  capitalized  at  close  to  a 
billion  dollars  land  that  had  been  farming  land  of  lit- 
tle value  twenty-five  years  before.  The  vast  anthra- 
cite coal  monopolies,  capitalized  at  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions, under  the  old  regime,  defied  man,  flesh  and  the 
devil  in  exacting  tribute  from  a  shivering  public  for 
what  was  designed  by  Almighty  God  to  be  used  for 
the  good  of  all  equally.  The  Standard  Oil  Company 
was  another  example. 

"Now,  fortunately,  all  this  is  changed.  All  these 
monopolies  having  their  wealth  derived  from  the  land 
are  taxed  according  to  their  value,  a  tax  eminently 
fair  for  both  producer  and  consumer.  To  be  sure, 
Standard  Oil  and  these  other  stocks  are  not  quoted  at 
500  or  600,  nor  are  they  paying  50  per  cent,  or  75  per 
cent,  dividends  each  year.  The  high  taxation  elimi- 
nates the  possibility  of  such  ill-gotten  profits,  but  the 
return  is  perfectly  adequate. 

"Still  another  good  point.  Under  the  new  way 
of  taxing,  idle  mineral  land  has  been  forced  into  the 
market  or  has  been  developed ;  thus  more  work  has 
been  afforded  the  laboring  men  of  the  country  in  this 
development  work. 

"The  country  has,  to  a  considerable  degree,  re- 
gained a  large  part  of  its  rightful  wealth,  its  natural 
resources,  filched  by  illegal  means. 

"The  millennium  is  by  no  means  here.     There  are 


162  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

still  some  trusts,  some  monopolies,  but  they  are  made 
to  stand  and  deliver  for  the  public  weal,  through  tax- 
ation, more  than  ever  before. 

"Labor  conditions  are  better  than  ever  before.  The 
men  are  well  paid,  they  have  shorter  hours,  land  is 
more  easily  acquired,  and  the  purchasing  power  of  a 
dollar  is  nearly  half  as  much  again  as  it  formerly 
was. 

"New  building  enterprises,  and  there  must  be  new 
building  at  a  good,  lively  rate  in  order  to  make  the 
land  pay  the  taxes,  are  to  be  seen  everywhere.  This 
has  meant  still  more  employment  for  the  laboring 
classes." 

"If  you  keep  on,  you  will  end  by  making  me  as  en- 
thusiastic a  single  taxer  as  you  yourself,"  declared 
Harrington  with  a  smile. 

"Well,  I  have  seen  both  systems,  and  I  can  most 
heartily  indorse  the  new  way  as  far  superior  to  the  old 
one. 

"Then,  taking  the  country  over,  you  think  the  sin- 
gle tax  has  worked  out  excellently  and  well?''  asked 
Harrington. 

"I  certainly  do.  So  must  every  honest  student  of 
politics  and  of  economics,"  was  the  reply.  "This 
country  has  now — I  mean  continental  United  States, 
not  insular  United  States — close  to  200,000,000  peo- 
ple. There  was  required  to  run  the  country  a  few 
years  ago,  just  when  the  single  tax  was  instituted, 
about  $1,300,000,000  annually.  Under  the  new  or- 
der of  things,  with  a  multiplicity  of  tax  gatherers 
eliminated,  $900,000,000  has  sufficed  to    pay  all  the 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  163 

running  expenses  of  the   federal  government.     This 
thing  alone,  in  my  mind,  justifies  the  single  tax. 

"Way  back,  years  ago,  Prof.  William  G.  Sumner, 
of  Yale,  and  John  A.  Hobson,  of  England,  declared 
that  the  indirect  cost  of  the  tariff  due  to  monopoly 
prices  thereby  made  possible,  was  equivalent  to  a  bil- 
lion and  a  half  dollars  a  year.  In  other  words,  it  then 
imposed  a  tax  on  each  family  of  $100  each  year  un- 
necessarily." 

As  they  talked,  they  were  riding  through  some  of 
the  finest,  most  rugged  scenery  of  the  Green  Moun- 
tain State.  Just  then  they  shot  through  a  little  farm- 
ing hamlet.  High  up  on  a  rocky  ledge  stood  an  at- 
tractive house  built  from  native  boulders. 

"WThat  is  that  place  up  there?"  asked  Harrington 
with  interest. 

kThat,  why  that  is  Community  Hall.  Another  one 
of  these  social  centers  that  have  made  life  far  more 
livable  in  the  country,"  was  the  reply.  "I  think  you 
stated  that  you  had  seen  them  somewhere  farther 
south.     They  have  them  everywhere  now." 

"Yes,  I  had  the  good  fortune  down  in  Maryland  to 
go  through  one  of  those  interesting  places.  It  seems 
to  be  an  excellent  idea,"  answered  Harrington. 

"Now  we  are  coming  to  the  real  objective  point  of 
our  ride.  Just  ahead  is  that  'abandoned'  farm.  A 
few  years  ago  the  place  was  as  wild  and  unpromising 
as  any  piece  of  land  in  the  state.     See  it  now." 

At  first  glance  Harrington  was  about  to  exclaim 
that  the  place  alluded  to  must  be  a  forest  reserve,  for 


164  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

it  appeared  all  grown  up  to  large  trees.  A  second 
glance  set  him  right. 

"That  tract  of  land  consists  of  three  hundred  acres. 
It  is  all  set  out  to  nut-bearing  trees  which  thrive  to  a 
surprising  degree  in  this  climate.  There  are  three 
hundred  acres  of  chestnut  trees  in  that  big  grove."  de- 
clared Harrington's  informant.  "How  much  do  you 
think  this  'abandoned'  farm  cost  the  owner,  and  what 
would  you  judge  to  be  the  annual  income?"  asked 
Pettibone. 

"I  really  cannot  give  any  estimate,"  was  the  reply. 

"I  happen  to  be  a  friend  of  the  owner,  who  lives 
in  Burlington.  He  paid  $150  for  the  entire  300  acres. 
He  set  it  out  to  chestnut  trees  and  his  net  profits  are 
from  $30,000  to  $50,000  annually.  Bear  in  mind,  too, 
the  grove  is  not  more  than  ten  years  old,  either." 

"That  is  certainly  a  very  practical  demonstration  of 
what,  with  the  requisite  enterprise,  can  be  accom- 
plished right  here  in  Vermont,"  declared  Harrington 
enthusiastically. 

"This  grove  contains  very  choice  varieties.  The 
entire  world — Europe,  Asia  and  Africa — were  scoured 
in  order  to  obtain  the  choicest,  rarest  varieties  of 
chestnut,  anything  that  would  grow  and  readily  adapt 
itself  to  the  rigors  of  Northern  New  England  cli- 
mate." 

"I  am  surprised  that  more  do  not  try  this  way  of 
reclaiming  old  farms,"  declared  Harrington. 

"Others  are  trying  the  same  or  similar  experiments 
with  nut  growing  and  are  meeting  with  success,  but 
on  a  smaller  scale.     The  demand  for  nuts  was  never 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  165 

so  great  as  just  now,  as  the  public  is  more  than  ever, 
as  you  know,  turning  from  a  flesh  diet  to  a  more 
wholesome,  equally  sustaining  one  of  nuts  and  foods 
made  from  nuts  and  nut  products.  This  has  stimu- 
lated the  planting  of  nut  groves  of  all  kinds  and  no 
land  in  Vermont  seems  better  adapted  than  these  old, 
once  abandoned  farms." 

The  two  men  then  got  out  to  walk  closer  and  in- 
spect more  minutely  the  most  interesting  grove  Har- 
rington had  ever  seen.  After  walking  up  and  down 
the  long  rows  of  trees  towering  far  over  their  heads, 
they  once  more  entered  the  auto  and  started  home- 
ward. 

Pettibone  was  in  somewhat  of  a  hurry  to  keep  an 
appointment,  so  the  return  was  made  far  more  quick- 
ly than  the  outward  trip  had  been  made.  Three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  later,  Harrington  alighted  at  his 
hotel. 

"I  do  not  know  how  I  shall  ever  repay  you  for  all 
your  kindness,"  declared  Harrington. 

''Do  not  trouble  your  head  over  such  trifles,"  was 
the  hearty  response. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

"Well,  little  one,  how  did  you  succeed  as  match- 
maker?" was  Heatherton's  greeting  when  next  he 
called  at  his  sweetheart's  home. 

"Tom,  it  is  no  use.  I  am  a  dismal  failure.  I 
sounded  Auntie  and  got  her  to  confess  her  old  love 


1 66  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

affair,  but  when  I  tried  to  persuade  her  that  she  should 
accept  Mr.  Harrington  now,  she  insisted  that  it  is  too 
late  for  her,  that  she  is  too  old  to  think  of  marriage. 
I  tried  to  show  her  that  it  would  be  far  better  for  her 
to  be  married,  especially  after  I  leave  home  for  good, 
but  it  was  all  in  vain.  Her  mind  was  made  up.  I 
could  not  change  it,"  declared  Miss  Sears  regretfully. 

"Well,  that  is  too  bad,  but  the  case  is  not  hopeless 
yet.  I  have  learned  to  have  the  highest  regard  for 
Mr.  Harrington.  I  think  he  would  be  a  fine  uncle. 
If  your  aunt  could  only  realize  the  kind  of  affection  I 
am  sure  he  feels  for  her,  I  feel  convinced  she  could 
but  relent,"  was  the  answer. 

Heatherton  suddenly  became  most  thoughtful. 
''He  hasn't  called  again  on  your  aunt,  has  he?" 

Miss  Sears  shook  her  head.  "I  think  he  must  have 
felt  so  hurt  he  will  not  return." 

"He  told  me  he  should  not  call  again,  but  that  your 
aunt  had  asked  him  to  do  so,"  declared  Heatherton. 

"If  we  could  only  get  them  to  meet  again,  I  think 
it  might  be  that  Auntie  would  relent,"  declared  Miss 
Sears. 

"I  doubt  if  that  will  be,  for  under  the  circumstances 
he  is  not  likely  to  show  his  face  here  again.  His 
pride  will  not  let  him,"  was  the  reply.  "Say,  Eleona, 
why  can't  we  fix  up  a  little  deal  ourselves?  All  that 
is  needed  is  diplomacy.  They  both  love  each  other 
all  right.  You  tell  your  aunt  that  Mr.  Harrington,  I 
have  told  you,  is  to  leave  to-morrow  for  Australia. 
That  his  trip  proving  unsuccessful,  he  is  going  back 
a  heart-broken  old  man.     Make  it  just  as  harrowing 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  167 

as  you  can.  When  your  aunt  finds  this  out,  if  she  has 
a  spark  of  love  for  him,  she  will  send  for  him  for  at 
least  one  word  of  good-bye,"  exclaimed  Heatherton. 

"You  are  quite  a  match-maker.  We  will  see  how 
this  effort  succeeds,"  was  the  reply. 

That  afternoon  when  aunt  and  niece  were  alone,  the 
latter  began  to  pave  the  way  to  carry  out  the  project 
agreed  upon  between  herself  and  her  lover. 

"Oh,  Auntie,  Tom  tells  me  that  Mr.  Harrington  is 
to  leave  early  to-morrow  morning.  Did  you  expect 
he  was  going  so  soon?" 

"Air.  Harrington  leaving  St.  Albans !  Where  is  he 
going?"  was  the  quick  response.  There  was  no  mis- 
taking the  deep  interest  occasioned  by  the  information. 

"Tom  says  he  is  going  back  to  Australia.  He  says 
the  old  man  is  all  broken  up,  that  he  has  aged  per- 
ceptibly since  his  arrival  here,  and  that  he  has  con- 
cluded that  he  made  a  great  mistake  by  coming  on 
such  a  long  journey  all  alone  at  his  time  of  life." 

Eleona  slyly  watched  the  effect  that  her  words  had 
produced.  She  could  easily  see  that  her  aunt  was 
agitated.  Soon  the  elderly  woman  made  some  excuse 
and  got  up  and  left  the  room. 

A  short  time  later,  Eleona  started  to  join  her  aunt, 
whose  sudden  leaving  of  the  room  she  felt  sure  had 
some  connection  with  the  intelligence  she  had  just 
conveyed. 

All  through  the  house  she  looked.  Once  more  her 
aunt  appeared  to  be  among  the  missing.  The  attic 
door  stood  slightly  ajar.  Eleona  went  noiselessly  up 
the  stairs. 


168  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

There  in  the  same  corner  where  she  had  discovered 
her  before,  Eleona  found  her  aunt  weeping  quietly. 
In  her  hand  was  clasped  the  photo  of  a  handsome 
young  man. 

"Auntie,  here  you  are  again,"  declared  Eleona. 
The  elderly  woman  jumped  and  sought  to  conceal  her 
agitation. 

"I  know  you  love  Mr.  Harrington,  and  I  am  sure 
he  loves  you.  Of  course  you  will  not  marry  him,  but 
would  it  not  be  nice  to  ask  him  to  call  and  say  good- 
bye before  he  leaves?  It  would  only  be  an  act  of 
friendship.  Would  it  not  make  the  disappointment 
of  the  aged  man  less?"  entreated  Eleona. 

Still  her  aunt  did  not  answer.  Her  frame  shook 
and  quivered  under  a  deep  emotion  that  she  no  longer 
sought  to  conceal. 

"Come,  just  say  the  word,  and  I  will  drop  a  note 
for  you  to  Mr.  Harrington  and  ask  him  to  call  to- 
night. You  know  if  I  wait  it  will  be  too  late,  for  he 
leaves  early  to-morrow  for  good,"  pleaded  the 
younger  woman. 

"Yes,  my  child,  I  presume  I  owe  Mr.  Harrington 
that  much  courtesy.  You  may  write  just  a  line  and 
ask  him  to  call  to-night,"  was  the  answer. 

Her  efforts  were  apparently  beginning  to  succeed 
at  last,  thought  Eleona.  Eagerly  she  went  to  her 
writing  table  and  wrote  a  brief  note,  as  follows : 

"My  Dear  Mr.  Harrington: 

"My  aunt  desires  very  greatly  that  you  call  upon 
her  this    (Thursday)    evening.     She   says  it   is  most 


UTOPIA    ACHIEVED  169 

important,  and  that  she  trusts  you  will  not  disappoint 
her  by  failing  to  appear. 

"Sincerely, 

Eleoxa  B.  Sears." 

In  a  trice,  the  message  was  on  its  way  by  a  special 
delivery  boy.  The  writer  laughed  softly  to  herself  as 
she  thought  of  the  part  she  was  playing.  Would  it 
succeed,  though,  was  her  worry.  As  to  that,  time 
alone  could  tell. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

It  was  with  genuine  surprise  that  Harrington  early 
that  evening  received  a  special  delivery  letter  written 
in  a  fine  feminine  hand,  but  whose  identity  was  an 
entire  enigma  to  him. 

Tearing  open  the  envelope  eagerly,  he  was  sur- 
prised to  read  that  Miss  Jemima  wanted  very  urgent- 
ly to  see  him  that  evening  at  her  home.  What  could 
it  mean?  Could  it  be — no,  he  dared  not  hope  so 
much  good  fortune. 

With  more  animation  than  he  had  evinced  for  sev- 
eral days,  Harrington  eagerly  and  carefully  began  to 
dress  to  go  over  to  Miss  Jemima's  house. 

A  half  hour  later,  with  much  trepidation,  he  was 
ringing  the  bell  at  Miss  Haggerson's  home.  As  had 
been  the  case  previously,  Eleona  answered  his  ring. 

"Good  evening,  Mr.  Harrington.  Auntie  is  wait- 
ing for  you  in  the  parlor.  Go  right  in  there,"  was 
the  salutation. 


i ;o  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

"Good  evening,  Tom,  I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  she 
exclaimed  cordially. 

"Why  have  you  remained  away  so  long?  Did  you 
not  give  me  your  promise  that  you  would  come  back- 
soon  and  call?"  she  asked. 

"I  know  you  got  me  to  make  that  promise,  but  I 
do  not  want  to  call  so  often  as  to  bore  you,"  was  the 
reply. 

"You  know  you  never  have  or  never  will  bore  me. 
None  of  my  friends  bore  me.     That  is  impossible." 

"I  hurried  around  here  as  soon  as  I  could  after 
receiving  that  note  which  Miss  Sears  wrote  for  you. 
At  first  I  feared  you  were  ill,  and  I  was  much  con- 
cerned. Then  I  concluded  it  could  not  be  that.  Xow 
I  stand  before  you  ready  to  receive  whatever  message 
you  may  have  for  me.  My  fate  is  wholly  in  your 
hands,"  declared  Harrington  with  half  mock  gravity. 

"Why,  I  do  not  know  as  I  understand  just  what 
you  mean.  I  have  no  special  message  for  you,"  came 
the   reply. 

"No  message,  no  special  word !  Then,  why  did  you 
get  me  to  come  back?  Jemima,  have  you  no  feeling? 
Is  my  heart  a  mere  plaything  in  your  hands?" 
pleaded  Harrington. 

"I  sent  for  you,  Tom,  because  I  wanted  to  have  a 
chance  to  say  good-bye  before  you  leave  for  Aus- 
tralia." 

"Leave  for  Australia!  Why,  I  am  not  going  to 
return — at  least  not  for  some  little  time  yet." 

"Why,  Eleona  told  me  that  through  Tom  she  un- 
derstood you  had  decided  to   return   and  that  early 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  171 

to-morrow  morning  you  were  to  leave  St.  Albans  for 
good." 

"Why,  I  cannot  understand  how  such  a  story  was 
circulated.  To  be  sure,  I  did  think  I  might  return, 
but  not  at  once,  and  I  have  not  been  around  publish- 
ing that  possible  intention,"  said  Harrington  in  gen- 
uine surprise. 

"Well,  I  do  not  know  how  she  was  so  misinformed. 
There  must  have  been  a  big  mistake  made." 

"Didn't  you  want  me  to  go  to  Australia  ?"  Harring- 
ton was  beginning  to  see  light  break  through  the 
clouds  of  doubt  and  despair. 

"I  wanted  to  say  good-bye  first.  I  feared  you 
would  not  take  the  trouble  to  look  me  up  to  make 
your  adieus,"  was  the  somewhat  evasive  response. 

"I  think  I  should  be  as  well  off  were  I  in  Austra- 
lia. No  one  cares  for  me  here,  neither  does  any  one 
care  for  me  there.  It  is  all  the  same  to  me  now 
wherever  I  live,"  said  Harrington  sadly,  sudden  hopes 
quickly  vanishing. 

"Do  not  talk  that  way,  Tom.  There  is  one  who 
does  care  for  you.  I  care  for  you  still,  Tom,  dear,  but 
the  thought  of  marriage  at  my  time  seemed  so  pre- 
posterous that  I  could  not  at  first  accustom  myself  to 
such  a  thought." 

"But  yet  you  say  you  love  me,  yet  you  cannot  marry 
me  because  neither  one  of  us  is  young.  Is  love,  then, 
a  mere  matter  of,  and  governed  solely  by  age?"  asked 
Harrington. 

"Then  think  of  your  lonesome  state  after  Eleona 
marries.     Alone  in  extreme  old  age,  you  will  be  lone- 


i;2  UTOPIA   ACHIEVED 

some  and  miserable  and  so  shall  I.  Misery,  they  say, 
loves  company,  so  why  can't  we  unite?"  pleaded  Har- 
rington. 

''I  confess  I  have  thought  much  and  deeply  the  past 
few  days  about  my  condition  after  Eleona  leaves. 
Perhaps,  after  all,  you  are  right,  Tom.  I  cannot  say 
no  to  you  again.  As  I  see  you  more,  I  feel  myself 
set  back  fifty  years.  There  is  the  same  old  light  in 
your  eye,  the  same  old  manner.  I  cannot  resist  it 
now  any  more  than  I  once  could,"  she  confessed  with 
much  emotion. 

"Harrington  went  over  to  her  side  and  imprinted  a 
warm  kiss  on  her  lips.  "Dearest,  then  we  can  wed 
and  begin  to  live  for  each  other,  just  as  we  should 
have  done  had  our  little  romance  gone  on  uninter- 
rupted !  I  feel  I  am  going  to  be  very  happy  after 
all!" 

"Yes,  Tom,  a  new  happiness  also  comes  into  my  life 
as  I  sit  here  with  you  as  in  the  old  days.  If  God  is 
so  good  as  to  spare  our  lives,  we  can  yet  be  very 
happy." 

"Now,  dearest,  our  great  mistake  before  was  delay. 
Had  we  done  as  we  should,  we  would  have  married 
in  early  life,  even  if  we  did  not  have  so  much  money. 
That  need  have  been  but  of  secondary  importance. 
Let  us  now  waste  no  more  time;  let  us  name  the  day 
quickly.  We  are  both  advanced  in  years,  and  we 
want  to  have  all  the  enjoyment  that  reasonably  re- 
mains for  us,"  he  declared. 

"I  can  be  ready  very  quickly,  Tom !"  was  the  an- 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  173 

swer.  "Eleona  told  me  this  morning  that  Tom  is  get- 
ting impatient.  He  wants  to  be  married  now  just  as 
soon  as  possible.  Of  course  that  will  leave  me  all 
alone." 

"We  certainly  do  not  want  such  young  things  as 
they  are  get  ahead  of  us !"  declared  Harrington  half 
playfully.     "That  would  never  do  at  all." 

Just  then  Eleona  slyly  peeked  in  the  door  with  a 
look  of  supreme  confidence  on  her  face. 

"Come  here,  girlie,"  called  her  aunt.  "Why  did 
you  tell  me  Mr.  Harrington  was  to  leave  for  Australia 
to-morrow  ?  He  says  he  has  no  thought  of  so  doing. 
How  do  you  explain  it?" 

"Forgive  me,  Auntie,"  declared  Eleona,  breaking 
down,  "I  guess  the  jig  is  up.  I  thought  the  end 
justified  the  means,  and  judging  from  present  appear- 
ances I  was  correct,"  she  half  arched  her  eyebrows 
and  looked  roguishly  first  at  her  aunt  and  then  at  Mr. 
Harrington. 

"If  this  was  all  a  ruse,  I  will  forgive  you  this  once  if 
you  will  not  repeat  it,"  declared  her  aunt.  "Mr. 
Harrington  is  to  be  your  uncle  some  day  soon."  A 
glad  light  came  into  the  aged  woman's  eyes  as  she 
looked  affectionately  at  her  aged  lover. 

"Congratulations,  'Uncle'  Tom,  I  suppose  I  must 
get  used  to  calling  you  that,  so  I  will  start  right  away 
to  get  in  practice.  I  know  you  will  be  the  very  best 
husband  and  the  finest  uncle  in  all  the  world!  I 
know  Auntie  won't  mind,  so  I  am  going  to  imprint  a 
little  kiss  on  that  cheek."     As  good  as  her  word,  she 


174  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

gave  the  old,  wrinkled  cheek  a  resounding  smack. 
Harrington,  as  embarrassed  as  a  school  boy,  received 
the  token  of  affection. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

With  sincere  delight,  Heatherton  learned  of  the 
success  of  the  combined  efforts  of  himself  and  of 
Eleona.  Upon  hearing  the  successful  outcome,  he 
lost  no  time  in  seeking  out  his  friend. 

"Congratulations,  Mr.  Harrington — Uncle  Tom,  I 
suppose  it  will  be  soon,"  cried  the  young  man. 

"Yes,  your  future  aunt  has  consented  to  become  my 
wife,  just  as  she  consented  once  fifty  years  ago.  I 
only  hope  it  will  not  take  fifty  years  to  again  bring 
her  to  the  point  of  marriage,"  was  the  reply. 

"I  know  she  will  make  you  a  good  wife,  and  you 
will  certainly  be  far  better  off  married  than  single, 
especially  at  your  time  of  life." 

"Perhaps  I  am  an  old  fool,  but  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  withstand  the  bantering  and  perhaps  criti- 
cism of  the  world,"  was  the  reply. 

Heatherton  that  night  had  a  most  earnest  confer- 
ence with  his  sweetheart.  He  felt  that  he  had  lost 
enough  time  from  work.  The  company  was  getting 
anxious  that  he  resume  his  route,  as  work  was  piling 
up  fast.  Why  should  he  and  Eleona  not  wed  at  once  ? 
Long  and  earnestly  they  discussed  what  was  the  best 
course  to  pursue. 

"Wouldn't  it  be  simply  great  to  have  a  double  wed- 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  175 

ding,  have  Auntie  and  Mr.  Harrington,  and  you  and  I 
married  at  the  same  time !"  she  cried  enthusiastically. 

The  idea  in  no  way  displeased  Heatherton,  and  it 
met  the  approval  of  Miss  Jemima  when  the  subject 
was  broached  to  her  later.  Mr.  Harrington  was  next 
seen  and  the  proposition  put  to  him. 

"Why,  sure,  that  would  be  a  bully  thing !"  was  his 
ready  comment. 

Thus  it  was  agreed  that  a  double  wedding  should 
take  place  at  the  home  of  Miss  Haggerson  on  Tues- 
day of  the  following  week. 

It  was  decided  that  the  affair  was  to  be  an  informal 
one.  The  house  was  to  be  thrown  open  to  all  friends 
of  either  couple  caring  to  attend. 

Like  wildfire,  the  story  spread  through  the  city. 
An  old  St.  Albans  boy,  after  fifty  years  in  Australia, 
had  returned  fabulously  wealthy,  rumor  said,  and  was 
to  wed  the  old  sweetheart  of  his  youth,  who,  through 
all  these  long  years,  had  remained  faithful  to  him 
and  patiently  awaited  his  return. 

It  was  decided  that  Frank  Pettibone  should  be 
asked  for  old  times'  sake  to  stand  up  with  the  elderly 
couple  as  best  man.  This  he  most  readily  assented 
to,  recalling  to  Harrington  playfully  that  he  had  pre- 
dicted such  an  outcome  to  the  fifty-year-old  romance. 

Harrington  decided  that  he  would  spend  the  re- 
maining years  of  his  life  in  his  native  city,  as  his 
business  in  Australia  was  all  closed  up  and  he  saw  no 
special  reason  for  return.  Besides,  as  he  told  in- 
quirers, America  looked  fully  good  enough  to  him. 
The  new  order  of  things  which  had  come  to  pass  had, 


176  UTOPIA    ACHIEVED 

he  said,  so  transformed  the  country,  socially,  eco- 
nomically and  industrially,  that  it  left  little  more  to  be 
desired. 

Miss  Jemima  at  first  suggested  that  they  continue 
to  occupy  her  own  home  where  she  was  living.  This, 
however,  did  not  thoroughly  please  Harrington. 

"I  have  money  in  abundance,  so  why  not  enjoy  it?" 
he  argued. 

It  was  accordingly  arranged  that  Harrington  was 
to  build  a  handsome  new  home  of  reinforced  cement. 
The  gossiping  public  declared  it  was  to  cost  a  for- 
tune, but  as  to  its  actual  cost,  Harrington  was  non- 
committal. 

"I  just  want  to  build  one  of  these  Edison-poured 
cement  houses  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  the  kind  of 
house  that  they  are  erecting  for  model  tenements,  only 
on  a  much  larger  scale  and  in  detached  form,"  he  ex- 
plained. 

The  wedding  trip  was  by  no  means  to  be  extensive. 
Harrington  had  had  nearly  all  the  travelling  he  craved 
for  some  time,  and  Heatherton's  house  was  almost 
imperatively  calling  him  back  to  his  work.  It  was 
accordingly  arranged  that  both  couples  should,  imme- 
diately after  the  ceremony,  take  the  next  aero  for  the 
metropolis,  where  both  couples  would  spend  a  brief 
honeymoon. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  the  home  of  Miss  Hagger- 
son  was  thronged  by  a  large,  representative  assem- 
blage of  St.  Albans  people.  Loving  hands  had  trans- 
formed the  front  room  into  a  bower  of  roses;  on 
either  side  of  the  bay  window  was  a  wedding  bell. 


UTOPIA   ACHIEVED  177 

Thus  two  couples,  embodying  May  and  November, 
spring  and  winter,  of  life,  were  made  one,  the  ring 
service  being  used,  and  the  ceremonies  going  off  with 
no  unforeseen  interruptions  to  mar. 

"The  first  to  grasp  the  happy  aged  bridegroom's 
hand  was  his  best  man  and  old-time  chum. 

"Congratulations,  old  pal.  May  all  the  happiness 
in  the  world  be  the  lot  of  both  you  and  Mrs.  Harring- 
ton." 

"I  am  going  to  turn  back  the  calendar  fifty  years 
and  make  a  new  start;  there's  lots  of  happiness  in 
store  for  us  in  life  yet,"  was  the  enthusiastic  response. 


THE  END. 


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